Seeing clearly: Verdun first to market with the next generation of window technology

Author
DEREK ABMA

Jimm Fox (R) and Eric Pham-Dihn of Verdun Windows and Doors in front of their new state of the art automated thermal pane assembly line.JEAN LEVAC / POSTMEDIA

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Amazingly, although windows have been used in buildings since about AD 100, there have been only three iterations of basic window frame technology.  The earliest builders in Roman times used wood frames, aluminum came into use in 1926, and then PVC frames in 1952.  

A local window manufacturer is breaking new ground with a stronger, more energy-efficient frame that’s poised to become the standard in the near future. Verdun Windows & Doors is a Vars-based operation that’s been serving the Ottawa region since 1982,  The company calls the product Window 4.0 .

This new type of window is called RevoCell. It uses what’s known as microcellular polyvinyl chloride (mPVC), a super-dense version of the more common PVC plastic.

This year, Verdun became the first window maker in Canada to put such a product on the market.

“A lot of companies have worked over the last 10 years to try to bring this product to the window business, and they weren’t able to do it,” said Eric Pham-dinh, chief marketing officer at Verdun, crediting his company’s “relentless R&D” for making it happen.

Verdun predicts that mPVC will become the norm for windows in the homeowner replacement market within five years and for homebuilders within 10 years.

Verdun’s new solid-core RevoCellâ„¢ Window is made with microcellular PVC (mPVC) containing billions of microscopic cells which gives our new window frame a stronger structure and guarantees better efficiency and performance. COURTESY VERDUN WINDOWS & DOORS

Verdun marketing director Jimm Fox said the RevoCell window “is really a game-changer for our industry” and no less than “revolutionary.”

“It’s really, really energy-efficient,” Fox said. “It’s got the highest energy rating in its class.”

Natural Resources Canada rated the RevoCell double-pane casement window the most energy-efficient product of its type in the country this year.

“Our new RevoCell window can save a homeowner hundreds of dollars a year in energy costs,” Fox said.

There are a few reasons for this, he said, one being that the dense plastic used in these frames is better at insulating homes from the outside, meaning less work for your furnace or air conditioner. As well, because it’s stronger, the frame doesn’t need to be as big, meaning there’s more glass to allow for more sunlight.

“When you look at the window from the inside or the outside, you have less material,” Pham-dinh said. “Depending on the size of the window, you can get up to 20 per cent more light.”

He said these windows are expected to last longer than the 20 years or so that’s the typical replacement time for most windows.

Despite these benefits, Verdun is offering RevoCell windows for the same price as regular PVC windows, which can range from hundreds of dollars for small basement windows to more than $1,000 for large bay windows. It also comes with the same 20-year warranty.

Pham-dinh said the company wants this product to be attainable “for regular homeowners, not just the elite — and if we’re able to maintain that price, we definitely will.”

When asked why anyone would still want a window framed with standard PVC when they can get mPVC for the same price, Fox laughed and said: “Can you put that in your article, please?”

Pham-dinh said after making RevoCell windows widely available only within the last few months, they already account for most of the windows Verdun sells.

RevoCell windows are available in all sizes. Certain styles of windows, such as sliders and hungs (those that open vertically) are not yet available in RevoCell, but Pham-dinh said the company is working on it.

The vast majority of Verdun’s customers are homeowners seeking replacement windows. Pham-dinh said the company made a decision about 20 years ago to focus on this market as opposed to homebuilders because the latter tend to want lower-cost components that are, inevitably, of lesser quality. Larger-scale producers tend to serve the builders’ market, he said.

He said that’s partly why mPVC windows are expected to take over the homeowners’ market before the builders’ market.

“I think as more companies produce microcellular PVC windows, we’re going see some terms of scale and the price of windows will continue to be as efficient as possible,” Pham-dinh said. “We’re the largest replacement-window company in the country, but we’re not the largest manufacturer. There are some very large manufacturers in North America. … We’re seeing today that energy efficiency has become more and more important to consumers, and the demand from the consumer will work its way through to large manufacturers. As people build houses and buy houses, and they’ll want a better product from a window perspective.”

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Four generations of window frames:

Wood (est. AD 100)

Advantages: Solid and uses natural materials

Disadvantages: Expensive and requires lots of maintenance

Aluminum (est. 1926)

Advantages: Lightweight and strong

Disadvantages: Not energy-efficient and expensive

PVC (est. 1952)

Advantages: Energy-efficient, affordable and no maintenance

Disadvantages: Not strong and larger frame needed, meaning less glass

RevoCell with mPVC (est. 2017)

Advantages: Energy efficient, affordable, no maintenance, strong and more space for glass

Source: Verdunwindows.com

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