The vast majority of Europeans know shutters. Whether they’re traditional and wooden-slatted or modern and mechanical, the bottom line is: they are nothing like the blinds and curtains I experienced growing up in the states. But despite the trends I’ve noticed over here, none of us really seem bent on our window treatment. It seems much more like a societal norm than anything, and one that might change if new solutions were to be introduced to keep us comfortable indoors. That said, here’s a brand new system to answer to the noisy shutters and dusty curtains we’re so used to dealing with.

GlassX.

It’s a high-tech glazing system called GlassX that was developed by a Swiss company with the same name. The system uses a heat-storing phase-change material (or PCM) that deflects the high, summer sunlight while allowing the low, winter sun to penetrate through the three inch (79mm) thick pane. Although the well-researched, fifteen year old company has a few versions  in use throughout Europe, they have begun distributing just one special version – the GlassX Crystal – to the U.S. market through a British Columbia-based company, Greenlite Glass Systems.

According to a Building Green article by Alex Wilson describing the product in detail, Ryan Dennett – the president and CEO of Greenlite – expects the benefits and turnaround to be fairly quick. He stated, “we’re looking at payback periods of five to ten years.” Clearly, it’s an item to invest in – somewhat like solar panels or an overhaul of high effiiciency appliances – since the product costs approximately $60-90/ft2 ($560-$970/m2). But like anything else, you get what you pay for, and for greening the world and eventually cutting energy bills, it’s hard not to see the ultimate payback.

In case you happen to like the look of European shutters, the aesthetic quality of the PCM and polycarbonate spacers is said to resemble Venetian blinds. But instead of hoping the concrete inside of your house stays cool with your intricate window opening and closing system, understand that the PCM slat appearance stores as much heat as nine-inches (24 cm) of concrete in order to maintain an ideal interior temperature.

If you’re concerned with appearance, fret no longer – these horizontal stripes won’t thicken your home’s appearance, they’ll simple fatten your pocketbook with energy savings in the long run!