LOCAL INVENTORS TOUTING NEW HEATING/COOLING PRODUCT

BY CLARE HOPKINS

VILLAGER STAFF WRITER

Massive increases in the cost of energy across the nation has led a Woodstock inventor to create a new window treatment that could save homeowners a significant amount on their energy bills.

The Energy Cinch — a window treatment that controls thermal heat and lowers energy consumption, was created by Chriss Krowchenko in 2006. 

“Most people don’t understand how much energy is lost through windows,” said Krowchenko. 

The Energy Cinch was created in 2006, when Connecticut Light and Power increased their rates and the Krowchenkos were faced with significantly higher energy bills. They wanted to find a way to lower their energy bills without having to spend a lot of money.

“I educated myself and that’s how I came up with the product,”she said. 

Chriss said she believes her invention can help all homeowners, renters, and building owners to reduce their bills by 30 percent as it did for her family. The Krowchenkos covered 22 out of 56 windows and saved $350 dollars the first month. The window treatment is a curtain, custom made to fit any window size, with four layers of insulating fabric. The layers are composed of metalized Mylar with polyester fibers that trap air, reflective polyethylene vapor barrier, high-density needled hollow fibers, and moisture  resistant lining. The shades don’t require any bolts and can be placed over existing window treatments. 

The Energy Cinch is innovative in that it considers the resistance value, or “R-value,” of the material. The R-value of a material is its capability for thermal resistance against heat transfer. The higher the R-value is, the more effective the insulation will be. The Energy Cinch has an R-value of 7.69. This number can then be added to the R-value of the window t r e a t m e n t already in place. For example, a single-pane window has an R-value of about 1.30, so with an Energy Cinch added, the Rvalue will be about 8.30.

Many people do not know what R-value is and other retailers do not list an R-value for their product. The Krowchenko’s have realized that in order to sell their product they have to educate and inform.

“By educating people on this, it’s the only way they can make an informed decision on what the better deal is,” said Chriss’ husband, Don Krowchenko.

The convective loop is another selling point of the Energy Cinch. When air in a home is heated, it moves toward the window, where it is cooled again and falls to the floor to be reheated once more, a process called the convective loop, and it is why the Krowchenkos call windows “energy blackholes.” The Energy Cinch cuts off the convective loop, so air does not have to be continuously reheated. It also works during the summer when air does not have to be repeatedly cooled.

“Unless you educate people on R-value and the convective loop, they will never understand what we have,” said Don.

The Energy Cinch is sold through the website www.energycinch.com. Buyers can customized their shade by size and choose from 90 different styles. For more information, visit www.energycinch.com, e-mail information@energycinch.com, or call (860) 974-8728.

Clare Hopkins may be reached at

(860) 928-1818, ext. 112, or by e-mail

at clare@villagernewspapers.com