Problem and Opportunity

“Windows have traditionally been a large source of heat loss within buildings. Substantial improvements have been achieved with insulating glass and low-E coatings, but the potential for even greater heating energy savings with highly-insulating windows still remains largely untapped.”  -- DOE R5 Program

What are IG and R5 Windows? When multiple glass panes are assembled into units, they are commonly referred to as Insulated Glass (a U-factor of around 0.5) that is more than 2.2 times the energy efficient over the single glass measuring in heat transfer rate. As three glass panes are assembled into units, they are referred to as R5 that highly-insulating windows with a whole-window R-value of 5 (a U-factor of around 0.2)* are the top tier of energy-efficient windows for cold and mixed climates available today, which Department of  Energy has been commercially promoting since end of last year.

What's the Opportunity? The U.S. had approximately 113 million residential buildings. There are 33.34 million residential buildings need replace the energy efficient windows and doors. Each residential home has 12 windows and doors in average. Therefore, more than 400 million windows and doors need to be made immediately. The commercial buildings are similar. The U.S. had 74.8 billion square feet of commercial floor space in 2006. Near 50% of commercial buildings were built in 1979 or before that most of them demand to replace energy efficient windows and curtain walls.

What's the Problem? The problem arisen in manufacturing is that the weight of the green window is double or triple as the Isolated Glass is made of two pieces of glass or more.  On the other hand, the tolerance requirement between glass and frame is increasing tied. In US, there are over one thousand manufacturer making windows & doors. The manufactures still make windows and doors by manpower that keep the low quality and high prices that result the small-scale rate in changing the inefficient windows and doors.

What's the Solution We Offer? We promotes the new way of manufacturing energy efficient building products, window and door with Isolated Glass. Smart Line has invented a new method and a machine that automatically makes IGU windows and doors that US Patent Office awards patent # 7,549,833. It changes the heavy physical labor work to the work on switches that programming controller executes the processes. As one of our customers of window manufactures using the prototype of the automatic glazing machine, it has the following outcomes:

•    It doubles the productivity and save one labor on the line that cut 20% of the price of IG or R-5 windows.

•    Ensure the quality of IG and R-5 windows

•    Safe the IG and R-5 window working environment

•    Short the lead time

Consider Long Term Multiple Values and Measurements. In Form 1, it listed the energy saving in current year and the energy saving in long term based on the glazing machines offered to window manufactures. It has multiple values in the three items of the glazing machines, the energy efficient windows and the energy savings. For example, it not only counted how many machines made in current year but also the machines in previous year because machines we made in previous year are continuously making energy efficient windows in current year and the years after. And, it not only counted how many windows the machines made in current year but also the windows made in previous years because the windows made in previous year are continuously saving energy in current year and the years after. Please notice that the energy saving in long term is increasing rapidly because it accumulates green machines, green windows, and energy savings. How the energy saving in ten years term? The multiple values will be huge. If we offer this glazing machine in large-scale amounts, the outcome will be huge. That is the advantage of the project and that’s why to make automatic glazing machines are so important and so urging in saving the energy and reduce green house effect.

September 10,2010.

* The U-factor measures heat transfer in Btu/hr-sq ft-°F. U-factor and R-value

are inversely related.  

Other topic: Energy Efficient on Machines