Passive House in Niagara Region of Ontario, CA

When building any eco or passive home the building envelope is a crucial component. When the Black Bank Hill architects were choosing materials – the one thing they knew very early on was their preferred window system.

Black Bank Hill was designed to meet Passivehouse standards in North America.  Once the decision had been made to use ICF Construction, their goal was to create a wall with the highest R Value possible. Enter Fibertec Fiberglass Windows and Doors.

Using Passive solar design: Three large, south-facing windows in the home’s Great Room allow passive solar heat gain directly from the low-angle winter sun. The deep roof overhang inversely blocks the heat from the high-angle hot summer sun. Using the right combination of Triple Pane Glass, Low E Glazing, and Argon Gas The Black Bank Hill house received an EnerGuide rating of 86, making it one of the most energy efficient homes in the country. The home averages 30 kWh per day in electricity use. The owners enjoy a 65% reduction in their total energy use compared to a typical house of equal size.

Great Seneca Creek Elementary School, Germantown, Maryland

Great Seneca Creek Elementary School is Montgomery County Public School’s (MCPS) LEED® Gold rated school. The client wanted to pilot a new program: to create a new “green” prototype elementary school for their growing jurisdiction.

The building acts as a 3-D environmental textbook to teach the students about the green features and
energy-saving aspects of the building. The compact, 2-story school footprint with an open-air educational courtyard allows for minimal site disturbance while still maintaining maximum daylight spaces and views to the exterior. The mechanical system is designed to utilize a ground source well field and individual heat pumps and temperature controls. Electric needs are completely covered by green power. Low-E, double glazed insulated fiberglass window units manufactured by Fibertec and an energy star roof coating contribute to the energy savings. Water usage is reduced by over 40% through the use of waterless urinals, dual flush toilets, low-flow aerators and showerheads, and censured faucets. Products include strawboard casework with rapidly renewable content as well as plastic toilet partitions, structural steel, and fly ash concrete all containing a large percentage of recycled content.

126 Belamy Rd, Toronto (500 Suite Building)

The original windows in this building were single pane glass, drafty, and unfinished in aluminum. The owner wanted to increase the thermal efficiency and improve the esthetic appearance of the windows in the building. The original balcony doors were difficult to open and close and did not seal well, allowing cold drafts to enter the units. Fibertec`s 450 System aluminum windows integrated with our high energy efficient balcony doors have greatly improved the winter comfort for those living in these units, and has resulted in a reduction of over 30% in heating costs. All of this was achieved on a stringent budget.

1 Shaftsbury Ave

This project, consisting of a 6-story apartment building and 60 townhomes, backs onto a railway on the south, Yonge Street to the west and the subway runs through a tunnel under the structure. This high noise location presented an enormous challenge for the projects architects and engineers, as the S.T.C (Sound Transmission Coefficency) ratings had to be extremely high in order to meet the city`s requirements. The Fibertec team came up with innovative ways to deaden the road and rail noise using a unique and innovative combination of glass, thermal spacers and low conductivity gas. These were installed in our highly thermally efficient fiberglass frames.