Thermal imaging was used to examine qualitative impacts of the windows on heat gain to the interior. As expected, infrared photographs showed a noticeable decrease in the amount of heat entering the conditioned space for the improved house versus the base house. The impact of thermally improved metal frames was very evident. This is not surprising given the large calculated impacts in previous simulation analyses (Wright, 1995).
In the example shown, an infrared photo taken of a west-facing window at 12:30 PM on an early fall day (ambient temperature was 85°F, interior temperature was 76°F) showed that the inside surface of the glass was approximately 8°F cooler for the improved windows versus the standard windows, while the inside surface of the thermally-broken frame was approximately 12°F cooler than the standard window frame.
Numerous photos are available for both the base and improved house.