High-Efficiency Windows: The Frontier of High-Performance Construction

Andrew P. McCoy
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Industrial Revolution
Every home makes compromises among different and often competing goals: comfort, convenience, durability, energy consumption, maintenance, construction costs, appearance, strength, community acceptance, and resale value. Often consumers and developers making the tradeoffs among these goals do so with incomplete information, increasing the risks and slowing the adoption of innovative products and processes. This slow diffusion negatively affects productivity, quality, performance, and value. This department of Cityscape presents, in graphic form, a few promising technological improvements to the U.S. housing stock. If you have an idea for a future department feature, please send your diagram or photograph, along with a few, well-chosen words, to elizabeth.a.cocke@hud.gov.

New generations of high-efficiency windows (HEWs) protect residents from harmful radiation, conserve and resist energy flows (thermal efficiency), and are increasingly specific to the needs of the homeowner and the unit.