Resources
This field study of a single historic home in Seattle, WA documents the performance of Indow Window's interior storm window inserts. Using the defined analysis approach, it was determined that the interior storm windows produced a 22% reduction in heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning energy use and reduced building envelope leakage by 8.6%
This study presents energy-modeling results for a large number of window combinations with window attachments in typical residential buildings and in varied climates throughout the United States.
In 2011, Pennsylvania became the first state weatherization program to explicitly integrate low-e storm windows into its list of priority weatherization measures. This study evaluated 37 homes in Pennsylvania using NEAT, estimating a savings-to-investment ratio of 1.4 to 2.2.
A field evaluation comparing the performance of low emittance (low-e) storm windows with both standard clear storm windows and no storm windows was performed in a cold climate. Six homes with single pane windows were monitored over the period of one heating season. Overall heating load reduction due to the storm windows was 13% with the clear glass and 21% with the low-e windows. Simple paybacks for the addition of the storm windows were 10 years for the clear glass and 4.5 years for the low-e storm windows.
This study from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) examines the energy performance of low-e storm windows and interior cellular shades through a field evaluation using an identical pair of all-electric, factory-built Lab Homes.
Initial analyses by the U.S. Department of Energy and the window covering industry suggested that window coverings—blinds, shades, curtains, and awnings— could save significant energy at low cost. This report characterizes the installed base of windows, the installed base of window coverings, and how users operate window coverings in order to enable precise quantification of energy savings.
This report describes the experimental design and results of testing the energy performance of Hunter Douglas double-cell cellular shades under various control schemes in the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL) Lab Homes. The results of both heating and cooling season experiments are presented, where testing is designed to assess the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) savings resulting from the thermal insulating properties as well as the automated and dynamic control strategies of shading devices.
PNNL, in collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), evaluated exterior shades at the PNNL Lab Homes and three occupied field sites in Richland, Washington. At the Lab Homes, the energy performance of exterior shades was evaluated in a controlled side-byside environment. At the occupied field sites, exterior shades were characterized by measuring shade usage, documenting installation practices, and surveying customer perspectives.
In this study, the team analyzed the energy savings potential of cellular shades in residential homes via experimental testing for two heating seasons and energy simulations. Five shading devices—three single-cell and two double cellular/cell-in-cell shades—were used to compare the performance with generic horizontal venetian blinds using two nearly identical side-by-side rooms in a residential home. The experimental testing showed daily heating energy savings in the range of 17%–36% compared with the case without shades.
To examine the energy performance of cellular shade window coverings, a field evaluation was undertaken in a matched pair of all-electric, factory-built “Lab Homes” located on the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) campus in Richland, Washington. The baseline home included two scenarios: one with no window coverings and the other with standard typical white vinyl horizontal blinds. Different operational schedules were tested to help understand this effect on HVAC energy use.
Insulating cellular shade interior window attachments have the ability to improve window thermal resistance to heat transferring to the outdoors during the winter heating season as well as resistance to heat transferring in through the window during the summer cooling season. During the winter when the window is fully covered, however, the added insulation reduces the amount of warm indoor air that reaches the window surface, thereby lowering the temperature of the window glass and frame and increasing the potential for condensation to collect on the interior surface of the window.
In this paper, we explore affordable window retrofit strategies, such as low-emissivity (low-e) storm windows, solar screens, cellular shades, and window inserts, which promise substantial improvements, lower costs, and less tenant disruption. We share results of the Twin Cities (Minnesota) Multi-Family Storm Windows Replacement Pilot along with other window attachment lab and field studies.
This report presents background on AFDD, stakeholder engagement efforts, a technology assessment of automated fault detection and diagnostics (AFDD) and smart diagnostic tools, residential CAC and ASHP market trends, a characterization of the CAC and ASHP installed base, a synopsis of utility provider HVAC programs, and market barriers to AFDD.
The energy savings and cost-effectiveness of installing low-emissivity (low-E) storm windows and panels over existing windows in residential homes were evaluated across a broad range of US climate zones. This work updates a similar previous analysis of low-E storm windows and panels, using new fuel costs and examining the separate contributions of reduced air leakage and reduced U-factors and solar heat gain coefficients to the total energy savings.
This study examined the energy and air-leakage performance of interior low-e storm windows at the PNNL Lab Homes. The measured energy savings averaged 8.1% for the heating season and 4.2% for the cooling season for identical occupancy conditions.
To examine the energy, air-leakage, and thermal-comfort performance of low-e storm windows, a field evaluation was undertaken in a matched pair of all-electric, factory-built Lab Homes located on the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) campus in Richland, Washington. This study found an annual energy savings of 10.1% and a simple payback period between 5 and 7 years.
This report examines the market for low-e storm windows based on market data, case, studies, and recent experience with weatherization deployment programs. This study estimates that market adoption of low-e storm windows could reasonably achieve savings of 140 trillion Btus of primary energy annually by 2025.