Up until recently, tightening your building envelope was the last thing a building owner invested in. The amount of money that had to be spent, the disruption to operations of tenants inside, and total electricity savings for cooling and gas/oil for heating was just not worth it. Simple paybacks of 15 or more years made such projects not worthwhile.

The weakest point of a building envelope is the window. Windows are clear, one’s outlook to the world. But even a “good” window will not keep conditioned air in a building from escaping as well as even a “bad” wall, given its construction and material. While one would be tempted to build a windowless building, it sure would be hard to lease; who would want to work or live in a windowless space? However, replacing windows has a long payback. Building owners in most cases literally would rather wait for their windows to break or openly leak drafts of air before replacing.

But there has literally been a revolution in recent years in technologies for windows to strongly consider if you need to cut energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions and meet new complex rules, such as New York City’s Local Law 97.

Window inserts from IEG can be installed to improve the insulation properties of windows greatly. They have been shown to improve the comfort level of building or storefront window and decrease noise proliferation, as well. Each one can be installed in a matter of minutes, minimally disrupting tenants, with no demolition and construction and no scaffolding. Recent testing by an independent firm showed that these inserts increase the overall window U factor by 50-63% (the lower the U, the better the window insulates). And inserts are more economical. Recent proposals to add them to windows in several high-rise office buildings showed a payback of 6 years, better than 15 years if replacing existing windows. See https://www.ienergy-group.com/

A different approach is to replace old single-pane and even double-pane windows with triple-pane windows with gas filling the gaps which can offer greater insulation. They not only allow users to be more comfortable but reduce nighttime condensation and allow surface temperature to be close to room temperature.

Thin triple pane-designed windows can improve window insulation by about 40%. Given the increase in the amount of material and engineering, it will be more expensive than a double-pane replacement. However, as material costs have dropped in recent years, the price differential has dropped, as well.

In addition, to window inserts or triple-pane windows, the building owner can use other strategies to improve the building envelope, such as external shading and maximizing windows where the sun shines can also allow building owners to save energy use.

CCES can provide for your firm specific workable strategies to improve your building envelope so you waste less energy without impacting your operations– and project manage what you select to ensure the savings and for you to get the best workmanship for the right price. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.