Guardian Industries,
an architectural and automotive glass manufacturer, recently
unveiled a new prototype glass product that could provide some big
energy gains when integrated into the homebuilding process. The
windows of your house may soon actually supply energy via
passive solar gains instead of leak it. 
The vacuum-insulated glass (VIG) panel consists of two glass
panes, one of which is covered in low-e coating.
When vacuum sealed together, the panel effectively eliminates both
convection and conduction of heat. The most impressive aspect of
the product is its potential level of insulation (or R-value). The
higher the R-value, the better the insulation. Most low-e glass
comes in between R-2 and R-4, but this revolutionary glass promises
a whopping R-12 to R-15 rating – the equivalent insulation of your
home’s exterior walls.
Expected to hit the market in 2009, the energy benefits of this
glass could be huge. Stephen Selkowitz, head of the Building
Technologies Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, was
quoted as saying “If you could convert every window [in the U.S.]
to this performance level, you would save homeowners about $15
billion each year.”
We’re still a few years away from solar
powered windows, so in the meantime we can look forward to
products like this one, offering a practical and scalable solution
for better energy efficiency.
(via
Environmental Building News)
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