Southwall Technologies Introduces the World’s Highest Performing Insulating Glass

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Southwall Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:SWTX), the worldwide innovator of energy-saving films and glass products, today announced the world’s highest performing insulating glass (IG). The new Heat Mirror® “Quad-Cavity” R20 IG achieves a remarkable 0.05 center of glass U-factor (R20 insulating value) at the same weight as standard dual-pane IG, enabling a new generation of zero-energy windows.

“Heat Mirror multi-cavity technology, with center of glass performance ranging from R6 to R20, enables windows to outperform walls and become net-energy-gainers in a properly designed building or home.”

According to studies conducted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, “superwindows” − windows with at least R8 total unit insulating performance and moderate solar heat gain − can become more energy-efficient than insulated walls due to the added benefit of passive solar heating, in which heat from the sun is used to further reduce the heating load on the HVAC system. Unlike walls, highly-insulating windows can actually achieve a net energy gain by admitting more heat from the sun than they lose through conduction.

The Quad-Cavity R20 product suspends three lightweight Heat Mirror films within the IG unit, creating four independent and super-insulating airspaces, also called cavities. When configured in a 1-3/4” overall IG unit thickness with Krypton gas fill and low-emissivity (“low-e”) coatings on the second and tenth glass surfaces, the Quad-Cavity product meets a 0.05 center of glass U-factor and 0.09 full-unit U-factor for a typical light commercial fixed fiberglass window. Different combinations of film and low-e glass can be used to optimize performance for either maximum solar heating in cold climates or maximum solar shading in warm climates.

“Our lightweight Quad-Cavity R20 product raises the performance bar for insulating glass,” said Bruce Lang, President of Southwall Insulating Glass. “Heat Mirror multi-cavity technology, with center of glass performance ranging from R6 to R20, enables windows to outperform walls and become net-energy-gainers in a properly designed building or home.”

To learn more about the product, visit Southwall at www.southwall.com. Or stop by Southwall’s booth #3128S at Greenbuild in Toronto, October 4-7.

About Heat Mirror Suspended Film Technology

Heat Mirror film technology utilizes nanoscale metal coatings to reflect heat back to its source and improve the insulating performance of glass. One or more lightweight Heat Mirror films can be suspended inside of an insulating glass unit to create two, three or even four super-insulating cavities without adding weight. Used in conjunction with low-e glass and argon or krypton gas fill, Heat Mirror insulating glass combines the best of film-based and glass-based technologies to create "super glass" with insulating performance up to R-20 and optimum solar shading.

About Southwall Technologies

Southwall Technologies Inc. is recognized as a leader in the development and manufacture of high performance, energy-saving films and glass products that improve the energy efficiency of residential, commercial and automotive glass. Southwall is an ISO 9001:2000/14001 certified manufacturer with customers in over 25 countries.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's expectations, beliefs, intentions, or strategies regarding the future. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks include the possibility that the Company's expected future results will be materially different than estimated, and , that there will be a decline in one or more portions of our business in 2011 or thereafter, that the Company will not be successful in improving operations performance or controlling costs, that the Company will suffer a decline in manufacturing or financial effectiveness, that the Company's new product development will not be successful, and that there may be decreasing demand in certain markets. Further risks are detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those set forth in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.