Intercept Extreme helps window manufacturers meet ENERGY STAR 7.0

The new, high-performance Intercept® Extreme™ warm-edge spacer system offers residential window manufacturers a competitive advantage, helping them meet or exceed ENERGY STAR® 7.0 criteria.

Intercept Extreme supports homeowners’ goals for energy efficiency, indoor comfort and service life. Its insulating, thermally broken design significantly improves edge-of-glass U‑factor and condensation resistance, while maintaining the durability of Intercept spacers.

Intercept Extreme builds on decades of spacer innovation, evolving from the original Intercept GEN I machine to today’s Intercept 2.5 system – the most advanced spacer frame platform available for residential systems. The upgrade accommodates production of the full Intercept spacer portfolio, allowing for a “good, better, best” offering on a single manufacturing platform. It seamlessly integrates into existing insulated glass (IG) production lines without compromising design flexibility or fabrication efficiency.

Collaborative, combined expertise
A collaborative trio of industry leaders – GED Integrated Solutions, Inc.; Technoform North America and Vitro™ Architectural Glass – partnered to develop the Intercept Extreme system.

“As the warmest Intercept spacer produced so far, it represents the next generation of warm‑edge spacer technology,” said Vitro’s manager of technical services, Bill Davis. “Intercept Extreme spacers provide the highest level of thermal performance available today.”

“Windows with high thermal performance are essential to meeting today’s industry standards, energy codes and homeowners’ expectations,” explains Technoform’s general manager, Helen Sanders.

“Along with helping residential window manufacturers meet ENERGY STAR 7.0, Intercept Extreme maintains full compatibility with the GED Intercept 2.5 high‑speed automated production platform,” said GED’s vice president of sales, Joe Shaheen.

Warm-edge spacer at work
The new Intercept Extreme system features an advanced, thermally broken, U‑channel spacer engineered to achieve the highest insulating performance. This new Intercept spacer incorporates Technoform’s hybrid co-extrusion process technology – stainless steel sidewalls thermally broken with a polymer thermal bridge – designed to dramatically reduce conductive heat transfer at the edge of glass.

Warm edge spacers work by separating the panes of glass in double or triple glazing and are made from low conductivity materials. The cavity created by the spacer reduces heat transfer across the center of glass, and the use of a warm edge spacer reduces thermal conduction across the opaque area at the edge of glass.

Proven, tested performance
Independent, third-party testing of Intercept Extreme verifies its industry-leading thermal performance demonstrates the ability to achieve a u-factor of 0.22 Btu/hr*ft2*°F in a dual-glazed, argon-filled IG unit that meets Energy Star 7.0 thermal performance criteria.

Further confirming its gas retention, moisture vapor transmission, weatherability and durability, Intercept Extreme exceeded industry standards with several independent laboratories successfully completing multiple, consecutive rounds of testing according to ASTM E2188, surpassing the requirements of E2190.

GED’s Intercept® lines are among the highest‑capacity IG systems globally, enabling manufacturers to produce up to three times the IG volume per shift compared to traditional production methods. Higher capacity, faster production with fewer operators and supervisors, and reduced risk of operator error, all within a smaller footprint translates into greater profitability.

The minimum finished spacer width is 15/32 inch and the maximum is 25/32 inch. The warm-edge spacer system is available in standard thermally broken strip for Intercept Extreme (SP26) and thermally broken strip for Intercept Extreme BlackLine® (SP33). It sets neatly below the window sightline, eliminating it from the homeowner’s view and enhancing modern aesthetics.

Learn more and visit at GlassBuild
To learn more about the new Intercept Extreme warm-edge spacer system, please see the webpage or visit in-person with representatives during GlassBuild America.

Hosted by the National Glass Association (NGA), GlassBuild America will be held Sept. 23-25 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Registration for GlassBuild America will open soon.

NGA selected the Intercept Extreme warm-edge spacer system to be showcased at GlassBuild America’s Innovation Lounge #IA-9. The system also will be on exhibit throughout the three-day expo at:
* GED Integrated Solutions, Inc., booth #2144
* Technoform North America, booth #2215
* Vitro Architectural Glass, booth #4032

###