EATONTOWN, N.J. (July 14, 2016) - New Visual Media Group, LLC (NVMG) has introduced a novel environmentally-efficient dynamic window technology enabling a six-fold increase in energy efficiency while costing approximately 90 percent less than the most comparable window alternatives on the market today.
"Buildings consume 40 percent of the nation's energy and windows are 12 percent of that or about 5 percent of all energy consumed in the U.S.," said NVMG Principal Elliott Schlam, Ph.D. "The U.S. Department of Energy has noted the vital need to face this problem and the important role that can be played by dynamic windows as compared to insulated alternatives, but a key problem with dynamic window technology has been cost - until now."
Schlam and his NVMG team have developed ElectroPolymeric Display (EPD) technology, which is essentially a tightly wrapped polymer foil that can be hidden inside any standard double-pane window, which is found in most U.S. homes and businesses. The shade, which can be almost any color or design, is covered in ink and can keep the heat out in in the Summer and in during the Winter, significantly reducing energy usage and cost. The shade can be electronically lowered and raised with a TV-like remote control, smartphone app or pre-set program designed to recognize temperature shifts or sense when a room is in use. Please visit www.newvisualmediagroup.com to see the shade demonstrated.
The NVMG product should not be confused with some windows, primarily patio doors, which have venetian blinds in between the windowpanes. The NVMG technology is an actual thin plastic sheet, similar to Saran Wrap™, shaped into a shade that can be rapidly rolled up and down. Each double pane window has the option of having two shades inside the window, allowing the user to completely block out sunlight or choose to let in partial exterior light.
"Many factors contribute to window energy efficiency, most importantly solar heat-gain coefficient, or SHGC, which is the percentage of heat radiation coming from the sun that will pass through a window," Schlam said. "Your typical pane of glass may have a SHGC of 0.5 or 0.6, which means at least half of the heat radiation from the sun will pass through the window. A state-of-the-art double-pane thermal window today may have a SHGC of 0.23 or 0.22 or 0.20 by implementing current technology, such as low-E glass. Independent laboratory tests have shown windows with the NVMG technology to register a SHGC of 0.034, which is six times better than the best windows on the market and 20 times better than basic window glass."
Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) provided early funding for the technology through an energy efficiency technology demonstration initiative. NVMG has received a wide range of private and public support, including a grant from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU).
Since 2010, Schlam and his staff, in collaboration with researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), have developed the product, experimenting with a wide range of window sizes, shade coatings and electronic control mechanisms. Anna Dyson, Director of RPI's Center for Architecture, Science and Ecology (CASE) working in collaboration with the international architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), said, "The EPD technology shows great promise. This technological approach could allow customers and building occupants more flexibility and dynamic control over the aesthetics and environmental performance of their windows".
"The product has passed every possible test with flying colors, including thermal testing at temperature ranges from 40 degrees below zero to 230 degrees Fahrenheit," said Schlam. "Many sample products have been tested to 250,000 and greater down-shade and up-shade cycles with no problems. That's equivalent to greater than 100 years of operation." NVMG operates a 9,000-square-foot Eatontown facility, which includes a world-class clean room.
The company, which holds 12 U.S. and international patents on the technology, has begun the process of licensing the product to window and glass manufacturers, as well as companies in the airline, auto, hospital, supermarket, cold storage and commercial automated door industries. NVMG has projects in place with companies in these industries to demonstrate the effectiveness of its technology.
"The trend in the hospital industry is to move toward glass privacy doors rather than the traditional cloth curtain privacy screens, which have long been a concern because of cloth's ability to trap bacteria and create infection control issues," said Mike Bradberry, President of Door Control, Inc., a Jacksonville, Fla. provider of automatic and sliding doors focused on the healthcare industry. "There is a significant market among hospitals who wish to replace the old-fashioned curtains with glass doors where privacy screens can be electronically controlled with the click of a button. Unfortunately, the electrochromic controlled doors available today are cost-prohibitive with prices as high as $250 per square foot. The NVMG technology holds the promise to meet the strict hospital and other automated door market demands."
NVMG projects strong interest among U.S. homeowners and developers with more than 300 million residential windows that are installed nationally and an annual market of 60 million, but also sees many applications in the business world beyond office buildings.
"Cost is the greatest advantage the NVMG product has over electrochromic technology, which adds $100 per square foot to the cost of the typical window," Schlam said. "Very few businesses and far fewer homes will be able to justify that type of expense. By contrast, the NVMG technology will add only $4 per square foot to the cost of the typical window, meaning our product will pay for itself in about 18 to 24 months."
Electrochromic technology and variants such as thermochromic and photochromic, sometimes referred to as "smart glass," gradually change from clear to tinted as voltage, heat or light are applied, a transition that can take several minutes, as opposed to the immediate transition offered by the NVMG product. Electrochromic window darkening, achieved by chemicals in between the windowpanes, also does not have the ability to completely block out sunlight, unlike the NVMG shade.
About New Visual Media Group (NVMG)
New Visual Media Group, LLC of Eatontown, N.J. is dedicated to developing the next generation of smart window technology. NVMG has combined the mature and well-understood discipline of electrostatics with commodity polymer films to create an energy-efficient Insulated Glazing Unit (IGU) for both residential and commercial applications. For more information, please visit www.newvisualmediagroup.com or call (732) 389-9400.