Rural Builder - Summer 2010

SKYLIGHTS

Wasco Skylights introduced an energy efficient in-
novation to its residential line of skylights, Triple Glazed
Series, a triple glazed skylight, making the company one
of the first in the nation to offer this important advance
over double glazed units. “eMax3” gives home-own-
ers another tool for creating an energy efficient living
environment and qualifies them to receive a tax credit
under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of
2009. “If we have a niche in the industry, it’s innovation,”
says Jeff Frank, Wasco CEO. “Now we can offer customers
a significant advance in energy efficiency and save them
money on the purchase.”
Triple glazed eMax3 consists of an inner and outer
pane of Low-E glass with a pane of clear glass sand-
wiched between. Argon gas insulates the two airspaces.
While Low-E glass has become standard for moderating
solar heat gain and controlling heat loss, Wasco has gone
a step further and selected what the company considers
to be one of the clearest and highest performing Low-E
products in the industry — Low-Ē3 from Cardinal Glass
Industries, Inc. When combined with other high perfor-
mance design elements, Wasco’s triple glazed Low-Ē3
skylights provide up to 55 percent greater insulating
value than double-paned skylights with clear insulat-
ed glass. Low-Ē3, so named for its three layers of silver
which limit solar heat gain and permit the maximum
transmission of light, blocks 95 percent of ultraviolet
rays and reduces window heat gain in the Wasco units
by as much as 69 percent as compared to identical sky-
lights constructed with two panes of clear glass.

For a comfortable home in the coldest weather, the Efficient Windows Collaborative, a partnership between industry representatives, NGOs and the U.S. Department of Energy, recommends that windows and skylights be constructed with glass that will maintain a room side temperature of at least 52 degrees when the outside temperature reaches minus- 20 degrees, performance criteria that Cardinal reports Low-Ē3 can achieve with only a single pane of glass. According to the company, most other Low-E products on the market would mea-

sure 47 degrees under the same conditions; and ordinary glass would measure 0 degrees.

Under AARA, homeowners who purchase an eMax3 skylight in 2010 are eligible for a federal tax credit for up to $1,500 or as much as 30 percent of the product cost ( www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=windows_doors. pr_taxcredits).

In order to qualify, the skylight must have a U-factor (the rate of heat loss) and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (a measure of how much heat due to solar radiation can be transmitted) of no more than 0.30.

The eMax3 in Wasco’s energy-efficient E-Class Sky-Window, a self-flashing unit in either a fixed or venting style would qualify a homeowner for this tax credit. Wasco also offers the eMax3 in the leak proof, economical curb-mount skylight.