Hunter Douglas: A Pioneer in the World of Energy Efficiency

    UPPER SADDLE RIVER, N.J., Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- It's a simple scientific
 fact: heat moves towards cold.  In winter months, it's drawn to the cold glass
 of windows to escape a home.  The U.S. Department Energy calculates that heat
 lost this way accounts for 10 to 25 percent of heating bills.  Hunter Douglas,
 the nation's leading manufacturer and marketer of custom window fashions, is a
 pioneer in energy efficiency at the window.
 
     The Energy-Efficiency Pioneer
     In 1985 Hunter Douglas created the first highly energy-efficient yet
 fashionable nationally branded window fashions -- Duette(R) honeycomb shades -
 - made with soft, yet durable fabrics pleated into hexagonal cells that offer
 an added layer of insulation at the window.  The Duette honeycomb shade soon
 became the most significant new window fashion to be introduced into the North
 American market in decades.
     The concept for Duette shades was developed during the energy crisis of
 the late 1970s when Wendell Colson, now Senior Vice President of Product
 Development for Hunter Douglas, was a young architect and inventor in
 Massachusetts.  "One night as I was shivering in bed, a double curtain came
 together in a folding pattern with a honeycomb-like configuration, capturing
 air between the folds," said Colson.  "I saw this vertically, but I thought if
 we put it together horizontally you would have a highly energy-efficient
 treatment because air would literally be trapped in the honeycomb cells."
     Today, Duette shades are available in single, double and triple honeycomb
 layers and a multitude of fabric and hardware options.  Duette shades with
 three layers of honeycomb cells have a very high insulating R-value
 (resistance to heat flow) of 4.8, more than doubling the energy efficiency of
 a double-glazed window and nearly quadrupling the efficiency of a single pane
 of glass.  They are one of the most energy-efficient window fashions on the
 market.
 
     Hunter Douglas Inc. is a national sponsor of Habitat for Humanity,
 covering windows in every Habitat home built in the U.S. and Canada.
 Headquartered in Upper Saddle River N.J., the company is the leading
 manufacturer of custom window coverings in North America.
 For more information, contact Hunter Douglas at 1-800-274-2985 or visit
 www.hunterdouglas.com.  Photos available upon request.
 
 

SOURCE  Hunter Douglas Inc.