The embodied impacts of window materials can be considered as hidden impacts. However, as buildings have become more energy efficient, the impacts of the windows are recognized as being increasingly significant and have not been thoroughly analyzed. Thus, comprehensive analysis should be performed to inform the wise selection of energy-efficient windows with lower embodied impacts. This article proposes an approach based on embodied impact assessment and Pareto optimal frontier to support environmentally friendly design of windows. A comprehensive assessment of the embodied environmental impacts of a standard size window was implemented for 32 alternative systems, considering four framing materials (aluminum, fiberglass, polyvinyl chloride, wood) and eight glazing solutions (for single-, double, tripled-glazed). Environmental impacts were calculated for non-renewable primary energy, global warming, acidification, eutrophication, and ozone layer depletion. Pareto optimal frontiers were identified, showing the trade-offs between environmental impacts and thermal transmittance (U-value). The components of the two main parts of a window (frame and glass) have been characterized to identify those that contribute most to the total embodied impacts. The results show that tempered or laminated glass and the glass coating (low-E film) increase the embodied impacts of glazing solutions. Of the framing materials, wood has the lowest embodied impacts in all categories, while aluminum has the highest impacts for the double and triple-glazed solutions. The breakdown of the embodied impacts of aluminum-framed window systems shows that the frame has higher impacts than the glazing, as it accounts for 60-80% of total embodied impacts. In the windows with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and fiberglass frames, the frame is responsible for most of the embodied impacts for single-glazed windows (58-86%) and almost the same proportion for double-glazed windows (46-54%), but lower for triple-glazed (22-40%). The contribution of a wood frame (<30%) is much less significant. Pareto optimal frontiers are identified for the window systems and the non-dominated solutions are discussed for the various environmental impact categories.

窗户材料的内在影响可以被认为是隐藏的影响。然而，随着建筑物变得更加节能，窗户的影响被认为是越来越重要的，并且没有被彻底分析。因此，应该进行综合分析以明智地选择具有较低体现影响的节能窗户。本文提出了一种基于具体影响评估和帕累托最优边界的方法，以支持窗户的环保设计。针对32种替代系统，对标准尺寸窗口的具体环境影响进行了全面评估，其中考虑了四种框架材料（铝，玻璃纤维，聚氯乙烯，木材）和八种上光溶液（用于单层，双层，三层玻璃）。计算了不可再生的一次能源，全球变暖，酸化，富营养化和臭氧层消耗对环境的影响。确定了帕累托最优边界，表明了环境影响与热传输率（U值）之间的权衡。窗户的两个主要部分（框架和玻璃）的组件已经过特征化，以识别那些对整体体现的影响最大的组件。结果表明，钢化玻璃或夹层玻璃以及玻璃涂层（低E膜）会增加玻璃溶液的内在影响。在框架材料中，木材对所有类别的影响最小，而铝对双层和三层玻璃解决方案的影响最大。铝框架窗户系统的体现影响的细分显示，框架比玻璃具有更高的影响，因为它占总体体现影响的60-80％。在装有聚氯乙烯（PVC）和玻璃纤维框架的窗户中，框架对单层玻璃窗户的大部分体现影响是造成影响的（58-86％），而对双层玻璃窗户的影响几乎相同（46-54％） ，但对于三层玻璃较低（22-40％）。木框架（<30％）的贡献要小得多。确定了窗系统的帕累托最优边界，并讨论了各种环境影响类别的非支配解决方案。框架对单层玻璃的大部分体现影响是负责的（58-86％），而对双层玻璃的影响几乎相同（46-54％），而对三层玻璃的影响要小（22-40％） 。木框架（<30％）的贡献要小得多。确定了窗系统的帕累托最优边界，并讨论了各种环境影响类别的非支配解决方案。框架对单层玻璃的大部分体现的影响（58-86％），而对双层玻璃的影响几乎相同（46-54％），而对三层玻璃的影响较小（22-40％） 。木框架（<30％）的贡献要小得多。确定了窗系统的帕累托最优边界，并讨论了各种环境影响类别的非支配解决方案。