Radiant windows return, this time from Belgium

Full disclosure. I’ve been involved in radiant window development for over the last 10 years. I began my exposure in radiant windows with a local group of developers here in the Denver area. I worked with two separate groups, who had two different ideas about how to make the electrical connection to the thin metallic coating on the glass that would serve as the “conductor” of electricity, and produce a warm surface. I saw two underfunded organizations press forward as hard as they could, given their limited budgets.

I am a radiant hydronics guy with significant expertise in radiant hydronics, so I kept my mind on the potential applications but I left the electronics up to these two developers. Unfortunately, neither of them was successful in bringing a completed product to the market. Both of these companies were imitating a European company called IQ Glass

This Belgian company has been successfully producing electric glass for many years, using a proprietary method of making the electrical connection to the thin metallic coating on low-E glass. This solid electrical connection is a pretty important feature to have, because if you can’t get and maintain that electrical connection, all you have is an expensive window, and there are no shortages of cold expensive windows on the market.

IQ Glass has it down pat, and at present has been doing so successfully for the last 30 years. The company has been working on a plan to expand into the North American market, and I am proud to say that I have been asked to participate through its new American subsidiary, IQ Radiant Glass (www.iqradiantglass.com). At present, we would have to bring product in from the European manufacturing facility, but we are working on setting up a manufacturing facility here in the United States to fill future product needs. Most of the better choices for comfort products have their roots in Europe, and this product falls into the same category.

I continued to maintain my interest in radiant glass, primarily because I view it as being one of the most significant tools I’ve ever come across in our efforts to deliver good quality human comfort to all end users, be they residential or commercial. I have written previous articles on this wonderful invention, and in fact have incorporated it into two of my homes in the high country of Colorado. Those windows have been working for the last 10 years, and I have gathered enough data on them to fully understand their potential applications. I am personally enamored with the comfort these windows deliver, but they have more potential than just delivering excellent comfort.

When I was first introduced to this product, I’m fairly certain that I didn’t sleep for two years due to thinking of all the potential applications of this product. It was the answer to just about every building/comfort problem I’d ever been exposed to. And many of them have absolutely nothing to do with human comfort in the purest sense.

For example, hospitals are required to maintain a high relative humidity internally to relieve the stress on patients’ lungs. It is not uncommon to see humidity levels between 30 and 50 percent or more depending upon the department and physical plant operation. This is what the American Lung Association considers the optimum humidity levels to enhance breathing and reduce stress on recovering patients. Humidity levels higher than 50 percent are known to enhance biological fouling, and are not suggested. This is not a hard condition to maintain, however, it comes with significant side affects that, if not addressed, will cause many other problems in the structure. In addition to hospital settings, indoor swimming pools suffer from high humidity as well. I will address that issue in a future article. In that situation, it’s not an intentional introduction of humidity that causes problems. It’s the fact that you have so much water being exposed to air.

Many people in residential settings have to deal with this same humidity and condensation issue and have never given much thought to potential solutions. In homes with hydronic radiant heating, they do not have the option of considering ducted warm air window washing to avoid condensation. Their options are much more limited, and their choices for resolution even more limited due to the missing infrastructure necessary to move large quantities of air.

Tune in next month as we continue to discover the many benefits associated with this relatively new radiant window technology. In the mean time, feel free to visit www.iqradiantglass.com for more information.

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