I dont see whre they list the stats on their windows on that site..

Yep, that's the company. I'm looking at the 325 series casements. Email them and ask for a brochure and to talk with a rep. VERY nice guys, answered probably 40 questions for me in a timely manner. They also do SHGC tuning for south facing windows, just like Thermotech or Accurate Dorwin does.

On the quote I received from the Serious people the 925 series was about 10% more than the 725 series. Not sure the U value is that much different but you get an extra sheet of film in the window. In-Line for triple panes have the best price so far and Thermotech's prices are on the moon. One would think in this economy prices would get a bit more competative.

Thanks, I learn a lot here as well, especially from the heating / system folks.

When cost is truly hitting hard, there are several Canadian vinyl manufacturers that make triples with great energy values. Their profiles are very different from American vinyl, they have lots of internal cross-section reinforcing and look much sturdier than typical American vinyl. They use tons of them in New Brunswick and Quebec.

Paradigm windows in Portland ME also makes a triple vinyl with huge U value, but also really low SHGC, so very little free heat gets in.

Vinyl doesn't have the longevity of fiberglass or wood / alum because of thermal stress, and vinyl manufacturing is nasty and toxic, so we don't normally recommend them.

But, there are always tradeoffs in life.

That's just the technical end, when cost starts getting tight, there are other design possibilities (more fixed glazing, operable focused on ventilation, perhaps site built fixed glazing on south sides, etc)

Ive contacted Inline, and awaiting information including pricing now....

Hoowood

Please stop it! This is the second time I've seen today that you've mentioned European windows without any performance values/reasons or anything valid to say about them. Obviously you work for /own the company and want to promote them. Is this really necessary? What next, you'll be giving away free pens from them.....MODERATOR!!!!!

"Minimum Standards"?  does anyone think that the codes or standards (California Title 24, etc.) are anything more that baselines? if you want a truly efficeint home then look to EXCEED the standard.  Otherwise your home is no different from the guy down the street. 

Energy efficient building envelopes have: High R-Values (low U-values) in conjunction with Low ACH. This includes the walls, fenestrations(doors/windows), ceiling, and foundations.

For the record, I found Stephen Thwaites at Thermotech to be quite knowledgable about their windows and a pretty affable guy. But it's been over a year since I submitted a window schedule to him for a quote and I've still yet to get anything. One can't help but conclude that the process of getting windows on time from Thermotech would be just as unpredictable.


John

I have heard of Thermotech fibreglass (manufacturer) in Canada and am aware of a few architects in MA that use them (or did use them). I have not heard any complaints other than long lead-time. This was 2 years ago so they hopefully have resolved this production issue.

I ordered custom windows from them and couldn't be happier. If I remember correctly they had my windows done in a couple of weeks.

I have contacted Thermotech several times for quotation with unsatisfactory result. My Windows are for a super insulated ICF project. Triple low-e with coating on surfaces 2 and 5. location is near Tweed, Ontario( cold winters) Considering a HYBRID Casement PVC+Aluminum window from Robert Windows at the moment.
Would much appreciate any possible feedback on this product \ manufacturer.
Suggested reading for those of you trying to see through the murky window business....the RED BOOK www.cardinalcorp.com

I don't know much about Robert Windows but I know in the past 5 years they changed their name 3 times from Hunt to Permaglass to Robert.... Caveat Emptor.

Thank you for the heads up windowrookie.....on to the Inline showroom.....

About 2 years ago I priced and considered Thermotech, but ended up going with Fibertec (http://www.fibertec.com/). All the units I purchased were triple glazed fiberglass, glazed by house orientation, and we are more than happy with our purchase. Found their pricing, service and quality very competitive.

Newbie John, can you tell me what you ended up going with? I'm looking at accurate Dorwin and Thermotech, both seem to be very good windows. Thermotech is significantly more expensive, and I'm trying to decide if they are worth the extra expense or not. Anyone else who has any experience with either of these window suppliers, I would love to hear about them, good or bad. Thanks

I have some Thermotech fiberglass windows on order. I'll provide more info once we have them installed and get some experience with them.

I have put in 3 complete houses with Thermotech, the first being in 1993, although at the time they just provided Dorwins. The other two houses were great but a bit pricey. The thing is, Steven is as honest as they come and has told me on occasion to buy someone elses window because it was better than anything he could provide.

That said, the product is great even though he has a hard time keeping up on quotes.

My suspicion, though not fact, is Thermotech is not answering you because they are unsure of their ability to produce product moving forward.

Omni glass fire back in January.....look it up.

Well, I'm back to report on our Thermotech fiberglass windows.
Good news. Delivered on time a couple of weeks ago. All of the 30 casement windows are now installed and working great. Plus 5 larger non-operable untis. If I remember correctly, most have U=0.13 glass units. The south side windows have a bit higher U values to get the higher SHGC. Very nice. The only thing that might be nicer might be if they had the vault-like multiple seals of many of the european windows.