The Center for Sustainable Research (CSBR), in conjunction with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), the Alliance to Save Energy and the U.S. Department of Energy, launched www.CommercialWindows.org – a website that provides information and performance data on the energy efficiency, interior environment, and technical considerations that influence commercial window design decisions.
According to LBNL research, it is estimated that windows are responsible for 39% of commercial heating energy use and 28% of commercial cooling energy use – almost 1.5% of all total U.S. energy consumed.
CommercialWindows.org features a number of comprehensive resources including a Façade Design Tool – an interactive, online tool that allows users to choose, early in the design process, various conditions for windows to rank and compare different performance outcomes. The site also features performance data, design guidance, information on window technologies, and case studies with examples of the various uses of high-performing glass and façade systems.
The Façade Design Tool allows designers and decision-makers to compare design strategies for orientation, glazing, window area, and shading – for offices and schools in hot, cold and mixed climates – without the need for detailed inputs. After choosing a location, building type, and orientation, the Tool’s input design parameters let users design a façade system and quickly get performance outcomes for energy, peak electric demand, carbon, daylight, glare, and thermal comfort. These performance outcomes help the decision-maker to understand the environmental and human comfort impacts of various design decisions early and to facilitate integrated design considerations during design development.
The Façade Design Tool’s simulated results were generated using COMFEN, a tool to be used early in the design process to model comparative designs to help determine the optimal window design. COMFEN uses a graphical user interface with an Energy Plus engine providing performance results. COMFEN can be downloaded from LBNL’s web site at: windows.lbl.gov/software. BD+C
Related Stories
| Oct 20, 2014
Singapore Sports Hub claims world's largest free-spanning dome
The retractable roof, which measures a whopping 1,017-feet across, is made from translucent ETFE plastic panels supported with metal rigging that arches over the main pitch.
| Oct 20, 2014
Institute for young innovators breaks ground at the University of Utah
The five-story, 148,000-sf building is designed to function like a student union for entrepreneurs and innovators, with a 20,000-sf “garage” that will be open for any student to attend events, build prototypes, and launch companies.
| Oct 20, 2014
UK's best new building: Everyman Theatre wins RIBA Stirling Prize 2014
The new Everyman Theatre in Liverpool by Haworth Tompkins has won the coveted RIBA Stirling Prize 2014 for the best building of the year. Now in its 19th year, the RIBA Stirling Prize is the UK’s most prestigious architecture prize.
Sponsored | | Oct 19, 2014
The Exploration Tower in Port Canaveral dazzles visitors
With a mission to provide the experience of a lifetime, the Exploration Tower at Port Canaveral, Fla., is designed to inspire, as visitors learn about the history and nature of the port and beyond. SPONSORED CONTENT
Sponsored | | Oct 19, 2014
What to do if your team is in a rut
Another brainstorming session, another slew of tired ideas. How can you push your team to be more creative and bring in new perspectives? SPONSORED CONTENT
| Oct 19, 2014
White House Visitor Center reopens in Washington, D.C.
Designed by SmithGroupJJR and Gallagher & Associates, renovated center shows public its unique role as office, stage, museum, park, and home.
| Oct 16, 2014
Must see: Illustrator interprets iconic windows concocted by renowned architects
Graphic designer Federico Babina has made a name for himself when it comes to art inspired by architecture, or more accurately, art inspired by architecture that's inspired by other forms of art.
| Oct 16, 2014
Henning Larsen Architects to design train station for planned Danish town
Danish firm Henning Larsen Architects won Frederikssung municipality’s architecture competition for a regional train station in the planned city of Vinge—Denmark’s largest urban development.
| Oct 16, 2014
Report: How to keep public libraries relevant in a digital age
Public libraries will avoid being relegated to the scrap heap of history in a digital age as long as they continue to serve as platforms for learning, creativity, and innovation that strengthen their communities, according to a new Aspen Institute report.
Sponsored | | Oct 16, 2014
Drilling deeper: The booming Bakken Shale region
The Bakken Shale region, which spans from central North Dakota to the northeastern corner of Montana, is rapidly growing as a result of the oil and gas boom. SPONSORED CONTENT