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Green Building Discussion
Topic: Insulating Window Shades
Discussion Participants:
- Hal Levin asks about insulating shades
- Bion Howard on Insulating Window Shades
- Alex Wilson on Window Quilt shades
- John Abrams with his experience
- Norbert Senf with an upscale solution
Hal Levin asks about insulating shades
From: Hal Levin
Sent: Saturday, November 23, 1996 3:47 PM
Can anyone give me some advice on Insulating Window Shades or Blinds or Curtains that are attractive, highly insulating (hopefully an R-value of at least 4, ideally something much higher) for a house with way too much glass on way too many surfaces. The house is just too hard to keep comfortable with the ca. 1981 Jotul wood stove that serves as the primary heat source, even here in Santa Cruz where outside temperatures are relatively mild. The shades or blinds should be relatively easy to operate and not take too much space when stored. Any suggestions would be appreciated including cost, R-values, contact information for suppliers, etc. Also appreciated would be any ideas for a custom device that could be made.
Hal Levin email: hlevin@cruzio.com 2548 Empire Grade, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 Tel. 408 425 3946 Fax 408 426 6522
Top of fileBion Howard on Insulating Window Shades
From: Bion Howard
Sent: Wednesday, November 27, 1996 8:30 AM
For the warming of Hal -- (from Bion Howard)
Look up a book called _Movable Insulation_ by Bill Langdon, that he wrote back in the hey-day (oh, it's over???) of passive solar. It shows how to make some removable insulating covers for windows.
Also, "Window Quilt" an R-3.4 tracked curtain arrangement performed quite well (as long as the passive house had "active" occupants) according to data in the National Solar Data Program. I did an article on "Movable Insulation" aeons ago in Construction Specifier, that reported this data. WQ still be available from RealGoods, or Solar Components (KalWall ?? help me out Alex / Nadav...)
I have made some "window-plugs" as I call them out of polyiso board, with the dual foil facing, and fire retardant treated fabric. You can glue cotton batting around the perimeter of the PIC board, cut shy of the intended opening inside diameter by about a cm, then create a slip cover which is sewn shut following sliding in the board. Shazaam!!
Contact Information: ---------------------------------------------------------- Mr. Bion D. Howard bhoward2@sprynet.com (business) Building Environmental ZowWatt@aol.com (fall-back) Science & Technology Voice:(301)627-2780 FAX:(301)627-4735
Alex Wilson on Window Quilt shades
From: Alex Wilson
Sent: Wednesday, November 27, 1996 11:34 AM
Indeed Window Quilt is still produced here in Brattleboro, though I haven't followed their progress in recent years. I called them up and they tell me they plan to have a Web site up early in 1997. Meanwhile, you can reach them the old-fashioned way:
Appropriate Technology Corporation P.O. Box 975 Brattleboro, VT 05302 802/257-4501
They can provide names and locations of dealers.
While Window Quilt is a great product, it really only makes sense for existing buildings. With new construction, you can do much better using super-high-performance glazings.
Alex Wilson Environmental Building News
John Abrams with his experience
From: John R. Abrams
Sent: Sunday, November 24, 1996 9:31 AM Re: Looking for Insulating Window Shades
or Blinds
I think the best insulating shade ever made was called Insulating Curtain Wall, made by a company called Huntington Ead in Colorado. This was a multi-layered mylar shade covered with fabric. It was monolithic, motorized, and automatically controlled by a thermal sensor. It had ingenious vents and spacers that caused it to fill with air when deployed, creating a series of air spaces, pushing it tight to its edge seals, and resulting in an R-value of +/- 10. When rolled up, the air would be pushed out to allow a tightly rolled package. It was well made too - in the early to mid 80's we installed well over 1000 sf of shade in a variety of buildings on Martha's Vineyard. Every one of those shades still works, and as far as I know, none have had any service.
Unfortunately, lunatics like us were few and far between, sales were slow, and Huntington Ead stopped making these shades in 1987. I've often thought of putting ads in the papers in Denver and Boulder (where they were widely used) to see if anyone has any that are out of use that they would be willing to part with. Maybe there are a bunch of them stashed in the back of someones' barn, like old Jacobs' wind turbines used to be. But I've never done it. Maybe you will, Hal.
Some of the same people who invented ICW developed the honeycombed shade called Thermocell, which was also well-designed and effective. Thermocell was sold to Hunter Douglas a few years back, and became the Duette shade that Norbert Senf speaks of, with an emphasis on style and less concern about energy conservation.
One of the original partners, John Schnebly, is still in the shade business. His company, Decotex 2000, has made some interesting products, but I haven't kept up with them. They're in Cohoes, NY, at (518) 233 1201.
But if you want such a high insulating value, Hal, why not replace the glass, with a Heat Mirror product like Superglass 88, with an R-value of approx.8? Then it's working 24 hours, and if you need sun protection you can add some cheap shades.
John Abrams 508 / 645-2618 (W) jabrams@smc.vineyard.net John R. Abrams 508 / 645-3182 (F) P O Box 359 Chilmark, MA 02535
Norbert Senf with an upscale solution
From: Norbert Senf
Sent: Saturday, November 23, 1996 5:48 PM
A somewhat expensive but stylish solution are "Duet" blinds by Hunter-Douglas. Many mail order places sell them for 50% off retail - look in the back of any decorating or architecture mag. They are little pleated fabric air pockets that retract into a very small space - a regular blind. One version has a silverized mylar liner inside the air pocket. What is nice is that you can get them to fit exactly to your frame (you have to be a little finicky here), so that you don't need an edge seal the way you do with other solutions. If you get much more than a 1/16" gap around the edge of an insulated shutter, you lose much of the benefit. They also have some nice versions for high windows that are hard to reach.
A downside that I've seen with styrofoam plugs is that if you forget to remove them before the sun is out, you can crack your windows (up here near Ottawa, anyway).
Norbert Senf email: mheat@mha-net.org Masonry Stove Builders mheat@hookup.net RR 5, Shawville website: http://mha-net.org/msb Quebec J0X 2Y0 fax: 819.647.6082 voice: 819.647.5092
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