TIME Magazine highlights Empire State Building Deep Energy Retrofit and Critical Role of Windows

In an article heralding commercial building deep energy retrofits as the unsung and unseen heroes of global efforts to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, TIME magazine touts the Empire State Building’s energy retrofit as “one of the biggest success stories to date.” With a payback of less than three years and 38% annual energy reduction, building owner Tony Malkin has achieved his goal of making the Empire State Building a flagship project to prove that energy efficiency makes sense for the bottom line.

As Malkin told TIME, “We did everything based on cost-effectiveness,” and that is where upgrading the windows with SeriousGlass played such a critical role – the US Department of Energy estimates that up to 35% of energy used in buildings is wasted due to inefficient windows.  Serious Materials more than quadrupled the R-value of the windows, using a first-of-its-kind process in which the existing panes of glass were reused and super-insulated with suspended film and gas fills.

Leveraging the experience in the Empire State Building project, Serious Materials recently launched iWindow, a revolutionary, low-cost commercial glass retrofit system.  iWindow can be mounted internally on existing windows and curtain walls to improve thermal performance and occupant comfort for the lowest installed cost and with no disruption and no waste of the existing glass.  iWindow’s outstanding thermal performance, low cost, and easy installation make the technology behind the Empire State Building’s success accessible to commercial building owners.