Date: 15 June 2012
Department of Energy (DOE). The project is on pace to almost double the energy savings predicted before the study began.
Built in 1972, the Continental Building is a 200,000-square-foot high-rise that fits the profile of hundreds of aging buildings across North America that need to be reglazed for aesthetic, environmental and practical reasons. The building is part of a $1.6M DOE-funded project with J.E. Berkowitz, LP; Quanta Technologies, Inc.; and the NAHB Research Center that is designed to quantify the ability of low-e retrofit glazing systems to improve the energy efficiency of older commercial and residential buildings.
Using energy modeling software prior to the renovation, J.E. Berkowitz estimated that the retrofit would reduce energy use by nearly 25 percent in the building. However, new data from sophisticated onsite monitoring equipment shows the building is dramatically outperforming the projection according to Thomas Culp of Birch Point Consulting LLC and manager of the DOE project.
“We are midway through our year-long study and preliminary observations are impressive,” Culp said. “Through the fall and winter months, the building’s east-facing perimeter offices showed a 40 percent reduction in energy use, and the north-facing perimeter offices showed more than a 60 percent reduction. While our study will not finish until September, we are excited by these results and fully expect the energy savings for the whole building to easily surpass our target.”
After researching various window retrofit strategies, the owners of the Continental Building chose RENOVATE BY BERKOWITZ (RbB), a new on-site window retrofitting system developed by local glass fabricator J.E. Berkowitz, LP that converts existing single-pane windows into energy-saving, triple-glazed insulating glass units (IGUs), while preserving a building’s exterior.
The RbB system also has the benefit of being much faster and less disruptive to install. Arthur Berkowitz, president of J.E. Berkowitz, says the retrofit for the Continental Building took about 50 working days, which is two to three times faster than it would have been for a “rip-out-and-replace” project for a similarly sized building. In addition, because the RbB system is installed to the existing interior window surface, tenants are able to remain in their workspaces throughout the project, saving the time, cost, and hassle of temporarily relocating them.
For more information about how the RbB system is helping the Continental Building save thousands of dollars in energy, labor and related costs, call (800) 257-7827 or visit www.jeberkowitz.com/Renovate.
About JEB JE Berkowitz, LP is a leading architectural glass fabricator. Founded in 1920, the ISO 9001 certified company serves customers for the domestic and overseas architectural markets. Products include Tempered Glass, Insulating Glass, Spandrel Glass, Silk-Screened Glass, Glass Doors and Entrances, Laminated Glass, and Point Supported Canopy and Wall Systems. The family-owned glass business is located in Pedricktown,, N.J., with over 200,000 square feet of plant space and over 200 employees. For more information, visit www.jeberkowitz.com.
# # # [Editor’s Note: Photography is available upon request]
Renovate by Berkowitz (RbB) is a trademark of J.E. Berkowitz, LP.
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