Selecting Energy Efficient Windows

The current energy shortage is having a major effect on what homeowners are looking for in their homes. Not only do they want something that fits their tastes and matches their styles, they also need for their homes to perform better than ever. In an effort to keep utility bills low, homeowners are selecting building materials carefully and depending upon builders for their expertise. As a result, it is extremely important that builders are educated as to the best possible choices for each individual homeowner.

In recent years, manufacturers have introduced a wide range of energy-efficient window products to the building industry - from insulated glass units and thermal spacers to tinted glass and low-emissivity coatings. With so many product options available in the marketplace today, selecting a window can be a difficult task. What types of windows perform best in warm climates? Which windows save the most energy?
When determining which window is best for a particular application, look to a window's U-value first. The U-value is a measure of how much heat escapes through a window unit. The lower the U-value, the more efficient the window. U-values generally range from .1 to .9, with .1 being the most efficient.

Most window manufacturers use U-values when rating their windows, but the rating may not be based on the same factors for different manufacturers. Some manufacturers may give you a rating for the center of the glass, while others may calculate the rating for the entire window, including the frame. The entire window rating is what you should look at when comparing ratings of different windows.

Another rating to look for is the solar heat gain co-efficient (SHGC). SHGC measures the sun-shielding properties of a window, particularly important in warm climates where a cool indoor temperature is desired. The lower the SHGC rating, the better the product will protect from solar heat entering a home. In southern regions, glass products with lower solar heat gain ratings help keep annual cooling costs low. When looking at SHGC ratings, clear glass typically carries a rating around .80, whereas tinted glass has a rating of approximately .11. Tinted glass offers a host of benefits. It absorbs heat, thereby minimizing solar heat gain, reduces interior damage caused by harmful ultraviolet rays, and adds an element of privacy by decreasing visibility to a home's interior.

Low-emissivity (low-E) glass is fast becoming the product of choice among builders, remodelers and consumers looking for new construction and replacement windows. Emissivity measures the amount of heat is emitted from a window. The lower the level of emissivity, the more efficient the window. Emissivity levels generally range from 0 to 1.

Replacement Windows Types

Are you interested in renovating your house? Are you currently planning to buy a new house? If answer to most of these queries is yes, next you could be definitely searching for a firm, which can provide you replacement windows. Many firms boast of offering greatest windows and that too at a reasonable price.

You can find four basic materials: wood, aluminum clad, fiberglass and vinyl.

Wood
Wood material is a classic choice for window frame construction. Wood replacement windows are extremely wonderful and provide your house a desirable look. In addition, windows from wood material are versatile - they are available in many sizes and shapes. Many wood windows now are accessible with vinyl, fiberglass or aluminum exterior cladding for additional security.

Aluminum Clad
Windows from this material offer sturdy, durable construction that will not rust or maybe rot, providing many years of reliable service. Aluminum clad is essentially maintenance-free.

Fiberglass
Fiberglass windows are extremely strong; in truth, they are eight times stronger than vinyl, so this means they can have narrower frames. They are available in many manufacturing plant pre-finished colors or can be painted or stained to match your current home’s finishes. Fiberglass windows usually are identified for their durability and low maintenance - they will not crack, rot, or even warp.

Vinyl
Vinyl replacement windows provide fantastic insulation values and never need painting or scraping. The new construction industry has started installing vinyl windows in new houses as part of an effort to market a more maintenance-free house. Vinyl windows are durable and energy efficient, keeping the house secure from the factors that make up our weather patterns.

Architect Gregory Iboshi solves problem with glass

June Ou's home is enclosed by the Presidio of San Francisco on two sides, and when she first saw it, during a Sunday open house, that is how she felt - enclosed in the dark. If she hadn't made it up to the roof deck, gasping for air and light, she would have never come back.

"When I came up here, I was like, 'This is why you buy the house, for the view,' " says Ou, who paid $2.8 million for the bottom bookend of a row of six homes on a hillside tract along the Lyon Street Wall. Because the homes were developed as a piece, in 1923-24, Ou's side walls were the same as her neighbors, up against each other. But because hers is the northernmost property, Ou's down-slope neighbor is a shade tree in a national park.

"This property is really unique, bordered by the Presidio on two sides," she says.

For 85 years, a wall ran up three stories plus the penthouse, on the north facade. Twenty tiny rectangular windows didn't let in enough light, which took Ou two years of planning and construction to capture.

Now, coming up Lyon from Union Street, the building looks as if it had been sawed in half, the front and back of the old house pulled apart and a sheet of glass dropped in between. When lit at night, from the street it looks like a three-story atrium with a staircase suspended from the ceiling.

"The house now is kind of a barbell," says architect Gregory Iboshi. "There are living spaces on either side, but this middle section is for circulation and to face the view." Read More...

Home Replacement Windows Features

Today almost every repair begins with the installation of vinyl windows, which is not surprising. Vinyl windows completely sealed. In addition, the plastic windows have a sufficiently high sound insulation, which is especially relevant today, especially in large cities and noisy streets. In addition to expressed above replacement windows and more stylish look.

The Role of Glass in Replacement Windows

Once upon a time, glass was a rare and magical thing. Only the very wealthiest could afford real glass windows in their homes: having even small windows was a status symbol.

Of course, that changed as technology evolved. Glass manufacturing technology made windows cheap and affordable — perhaps too cheap! There are lots and lots of flimsy, low quality windows out there: windows that allow your home’s heat to leak directly from your home into the wide open world.

However, just as glass can let your heat escape, it can play a pivotal role in keeping your heat in. Let’s take a look at the different types of glass and how they effect your home’s energy efficiency.

Single Pane Glass Windows
Once the envy of all, single pane windows are now viewed as the least desirable of all window options. A thin pane of glass can’t do much to retain warm air. Single pane glass windows offer little, if any, insulation.

Double Pane Glass Windows
Double pane glass windows consist of two panes of glass. These panels are positioned so they create a trapped pocket of air between them. This air pocket is of course invisible, and so doesn’t affect your enjoyment of the window. Your view will be unimpeded. However, that invisible pocket of air can act as insulation, stopping or minimizing heat loss through the glass. In some windows, the air is replaced with argon or krypton, further enhancing the window’s energy efficiency.

Triple Pane Glass windows
Triple pane glass windows consist of three panes of glass, positioned in such a fashion as to create dual pockets of insulating air or inert gas. As of this writing, triple pane glass offer the ultimate in energy efficiency. The mass of three panes of glass, coupled with two insulating pockets, do a great job keeping warm air in and cold air out.

Gilding the Lily
There are a number of methods top replacement window manufacturers like Alside, Harvey, Champion and Pella use to make their home replacement windows even more efficient. As we’re considering the glass in this entry, let’s take a look at one of the most popular options: low E coatings.

The E in low E coatings stands for emissivity. When you opt for low E coatings on your home replacement windows, you’re getting home replacement windows coated with a low emissivity film. This film, which is invisible, prevents thermal energy — in other words, heat and cold — from traveling through the glass.

Aesthetic Choices
The glass you select for your home replacement windows can play a huge role in the look of your home. Most glass is clear, but tinted options are available. Frosting or other window coatings can give you a replacement window that lets the light in but keeps prying eyes out. Leaded glass gives a home the look of the stained glass windows of old, and bevelled edges add an air of elegance.

How To Install Rreplacement Windows

You need to know how to install replacement windows before even trying, or all you will do is waste your hard earned money on something that won’t work. Installing replacement windows is much trickier than it might seem. You must, first of all, measure everything just right. “Just right,” in this case, doesn’t mean to the size, but actually a few millimeters smaller. If you’ve never been shown how to install replacement windows, you’re unlikely to realize that window frames are often a little sideways, and that if you don’t leave some extra room you will not be able to install it properly. I made the mistake of not leaving extra room when I bought windows to replace one that I broke, and as a result, cracked the pane trying to put it in.

Of course, there are many other things that you need to know about how to install replacement windows. The first time you do it, you should be shown how to roll out the glazing. It isn’t as straight forward as just rubbing it on. You have to roll out two beads of it. The first one, you need to roll thin and seal it in in a preliminary fashion. After that, you roll a thicker one and sort of mush it against the window pane and the frame. It isn’t as easy as it sounds, and if you haven’t actually been shown how to install replacement windows, you’re likely to run into all kinds of problems. The first time that I did it (once I went and bought a new window actually cut to the proper dimensions) my window didn’t seal properly, and leaked cold air all winter.

Because it’s so difficult to learn how to install replacement windows, you’d probably do better to let a professional do it. There are dozens of companies all over the place that know how to install replacement windows in your homes. These companies give you more options than installing replacement windows yourself, because they can design new frames for you, use different kinds of fancy glass for lighting effects, or even provide extra layers of insulation for your current windows to cut down on winter heating bills. You can learn how to install replacement windows, and if you are handy with tools, it can be a rewarding experience. But if you are busy, clumsy, or always on the go, you would do better just to have a professional handle it.