Why Energy-Efficient Glass Still Faces Adoption Barriers

How can the glass industry ensure its products are accurately represented in energy-efficient programs, and what is the current state of high-performance glazing? These topics are frequently covered by Helen Sanders of Technoform, whose USGlass Insights and Inspirations blog touches upon decarbonization and the importance of high-performance facades, among other topics.

Sanders returned to the topic on Tuesday during the National Glass Association’s Glass Conference taking place this week in Carlsbad, California, at the Westin Carlsbad Resort & Spa. Sanders and Tom Culp, an energy codes consultant of Birch Point Consulting, dove into the various ways the glass industry can improve how products are represented as ordinances and laws target carbon emissions in the built environment.

“We need high-performance solutions, and we need them quickly,” says Sanders. “We also need to deploy them at scale.”

So, why should the glass industry care about the lack of desire for high-performance glazing and the increased focus on HVAC? Because buildings are the primary emitters of carbon emissions, says Sanders, and glass plays a crucial role in improving a building’s energy efficiency. Despite that, according to a study prepared by the Façade Tectonics Institute (FTI) for the U.S. Department of Energy, multiple barriers continue to prevent the adoption of high-performance facades even as evidence points to the need for energy-efficient glass in older buildings.

Those adoption barriers include:

• Significant cost increase over business as usual;

• Insufficient resources to design better facades;

• Code compliance is lax;

• Insufficient return on investment on first cost increase;

• Perceived risks;

• Project delivery methods drive low-cost, status quo; and

• Project design is HVAC driven.

“In the end, we end with rinse-repeat code minimum buildings,” notes Sanders.

Change is happening, though. Massachusetts and Seattle are among several cities leading the way for high-performance façade adoption. Sanders says the common themes allowing these cities to make codes more stringent include political will and financial and market support. She adds that going forward, the blueprint for change must include developing a code certification program, creating certification programs and communicating the value of high-performance facades, among others.

Culp agrees. He says while codes are adopted slowly and steadily, they have improved and become more widely embraced. For instance, national model codes, such as ASHRAE 90.1 and IECC, continue to push higher-efficiency products, and the Inflation Reduction Act has appropriated $1 billion through 2029 for state and local government grants to accelerate building energy codes. However, Culp says there will continue to be a divide between local and national codes.

“Big picture, regardless of politics, is that we have seen steady progress,” adds Culp.