Congratulations to Lauren Bisio who won tickets to the NY Giants vs. Washington Redskins game in last months draw. Our December draw is for 2 tickets to the NY Rangers at Boston Bruins. Enter our draw up to once a day as many days as you would like before December 31 2011 for a chance to win.

ARCAT, a major publisher of building product information has developed and posted on their site, data rich AutoDesk® Revit® BIM objects for Kasson & Keller Inc.. Anyone can use these objects at no charge. In addition to creating accurate graphics, ARCAT and Kasson & Keller have added appropriate product data to each object, saving architects and engineers a significant amount of time doing data entry and product research. All of Kasson & Keller’s objects, graphics and content, are uniform and modifiable for ease of use. In addition to product information, ARCAT has embedded links in the objects to Kasson & Keller’s CSI 3-Part specs.

ARCAT & Kasson & Keller Inc. uphold the belief that high quality graphics are only the tip of the building information modeling iceberg, and it is the limitless amount of information held within the model that is driving the AEC community to adopt parametric software platforms such as Revit.

Glass Magazine released an article on how the Better Buildings Initiative could mean the end of the commercial construction downturn. The following is an excerpt from the article:

Officials of the National Glass Association, McLean, Va., issued a release, Feb. 4, welcoming President Obama’s Better Buildings Initiative. Association officials believe that the proposed incentives, designed to spur a 20 percent improvement in commercial building energy efficiency by 2020, are an important step toward addressing the current downturn in the construction industry, according to the release.

The full article can be found at Glass Magazine’s website. http://www.glassmagazine.com/news-item/commercial/better-buildings-initiative-could-mean-end-commercial-construction-downturn-nga

Congress approved tax credits for window and door purchases during 2011. Below is an excerpt of a Window & Door article reporting on this tax credit:

Like the Senate on Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation last night extending the Bush tax cuts for another two years. Expected to be signed by President Obama today, the final bill features a tax credit of up to $200 for Energy Star-qualified windows and skylights and up to  $500 for Energy Star-qualified doors for 2011.

According to a recent Window & Door article “a number of window, door and skylight executives sent a joint letter yesterday to all members of Congress urging them to pass a temporary extension of the energy efficient tax credit for windows, doors and skylights during the current lame duck session.” You can read the entire article at Window & Door “http://www.windowanddoor.com/news-item/government/manufacturing-execs-ask-congress-extend-tax-credits” which outlines how the current tax credits on windows, doors and skylights will end after December 31st 2010 if no action is taken.

Vice President Biden launched a home energy scoring program today. This program will offer homeowners tax credits for making energy improvements  to their home. An excerpt of this announcement from the U.S Department of Energy’s web site can be found below while the entire article can be found at http://www.energy.gov/news/9784.htm.

Vice President Biden joined U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today to announce the launch of the Home Energy Score pilot program. The Home Energy Score will offer homeowners straightforward, reliable information about their homes’ energy efficiency.  A report provides consumers with a home energy score between 1 and 10, and shows them how their home compares to others in their region. The report also includes customized, cost-effective recommendations that will help to reduce their energy costs and improve the comfort of their homes.

Kasson Keller, Inc a leading manufacturer of vinyl replacement and new construction windows announced today the release of the first phase of videos produced with tips for consumers and contractors to answer frequently asked questions about the products. The video clips can be found under the Knowledge Nuggets section of the EcoShield Windows website under Frequently Asked Questions. The videos will also be posted on YouTube.

Not sure which window style or model is the right one for you? There are many models and styles to choose from such as double hung, single hung, awning, hopper, bow, and bay windows to name a few. There are also multiple window models for each of these styles so we understand that it can be a daunting task to pick the right window. To help our customers out with this we have developed a tool that will explain the differences between each style then help you to choose the window that is best for you based on the choices you make. You can find this tool under “Knowledge Nuggets” then “Window Styles” or on the “New Construction Windows” or “Replacement Windows” pages.

For those who are familiar with the show ‘This Old House,’ you might be interested to know that the producer, Bruce Irving has developed a new show called ‘This New House.’  The concept behind the program brings viewers inside homes across the U.S. that feature innovative building materials, techniques and gadgets.  Tonight (10/20/2010) at 8pm Eastern, the show will feature our EcoShield R-5 window at Boston Green Building’s Deep Energy Retrofit in Medford MA.