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An Advanced Building Construction technique take a whole systems view integrating high performance windows and the walls around them to yield first cost savings through efficiencies of materials and labor while doubling overall energy performance. Multi-pane acrylic fixed windows up to R7 (.85 W/m2/°C) and R9 (.62 W/m2/°C) daylight transoms have been tested to national standards. Integrating these windows with 24” on-center (610 mm) framing results in the elimination of thermal-bridging framing to improve the thermal resistance of the wall around the window. The approach introduces the idea of the architectural bay, composed of one or more windows and the wall around it, as the ‘Finite Element’ of the building envelope: getting the bay ‘right’ from a thermal & solar standpoint suggests a path to realizing affordable Near and Net Zero Energy buildings. The windows are novel in their simplicity, which allows assembly from pre-cut parts by makers from disadvantaged backgrounds paid Living Wages in Makers Workshops (MIT). A novel strategic partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of the Gulf Coast starts older teen and young adult makers assembling small sample windows essential to introducing a new window technology to architects, engineers, and builders, and then graduating to making full-size windows. These ‘local’ production hubs can be replicated in other locations to serve the nation, eliminating an average of 1000 miles of long-haul truck delivery transportation for every building built, yielding an innovative model for low carbon footprint production of building components. UV testing of protective films and glazing layers, preliminary testing of enhanced structural capabilities, and first thermal tests on windows containing water as a light-tranmitting thermal mass diaphragm, are also reported.
Product Details
- Published:
- 2022
- Number of Pages:
- 9
- Units of Measure:
- Dual
- Product Code(s):
- DBldgsXV-C075
