From Guest Blogger Lana Hawkins: Choosing Energy Efficient Windows for Your Home
Whether you have just moved into a new house or are simply planning to do a slight makeover of your old one, the first thing you should do is make a plan of everything you wish to accomplish with your future remodel. Like fashion, interior design trends tend to change over time and they’re mostly characterized by whatever’s in the spotlight in that period of time. Given the fact that in the last couple of years, the attention has been highly focused on sustainability and eco-friendly practices, it’s not surprising to see different innovative additions in our homes. Like that, installing energy-efficient windows has been noted as one of the priority steps when creating a green household, as a way of both conserving energy and money as well. If you’re not quite sure what to actually look for when choosing your windows, these simple guidelines will help you grasp the idea.
Frames
Choosing an energy-efficient window is not only about choosing the right type of glass and coating, but also about choosing the most appropriate window frame. There are various options from which you can choose, with wood, fiberglass, vinyl and metal being the most popular ones. Every option has its advantages and disadvantages and as such wood frames are known to be the eco-friendliest solution as they offer the best insulation, but they’re also known to require a lot of maintenance. On the other hand, wood-clad window frames offer minimum maintenance and are quite energy-efficient, but are not suitable for wet climates. One of the most popular options lately is fiberglass, which is quite durable, but not easily recycled. Lastly, vinyl and metal frames are the least expensive options and while they can be recycled quite easily, they aren’t the best insulation choice and are also known to invite condensation.
Glass
When it comes to choosing glass for the windows, there’s really not much to think about. Glass doesn’t have a huge impact on the environment and as such doesn’t give you different options to choose from. The only choice you can make regarding the glass is whether you want single, double or triple pane windows. While the most usual choice are double-paned windows, if you wish to increase the level of insulation, then adding another layer is the way to go.
Glazing
Once you have decided on the number of layers, it’s time to choose your glaze. This is the step that’s going to determine just how green you want to go. There are two steps of this process and they include inserting gas or air between the panes to increase insulation and applying protective coating whose goal is to regulate the temperature and radiation levels. The best solution is to rely on Energy Star labelled products, meaning they conform to the standards of U-value (resistance to heat loss) and SHGC (Solar Heat Gain Coefficient.)
Curtains
Lastly, it’s not just the choice of windows that is going to determine how eco-friendly your home is, but what you put on them as well. Gone are the days when we used curtains and shades solely for decorative purposes; nowadays, you can find insulating blinds online, as well as cellular shades, drapes and shutters, which can greatly reduce the amount of energy you’re consuming, but also save you on your electric bills.
Investing your money in sustainable practices is one of the few things that’ll actually benefit you in the future. Not only will implementing these eco-friendly methods in your household save you money and energy, but it’ll also reduce a negative impact on the environment and help you lead a greener lifestyle altogether.
From the technical standpoint, the article was suburb. It was very thorough and accurate. However, it may not always make economic sense.
Here in the U.S., on average houses change ownership every five years. Of course that varies considerably by location. If someone were to make the suggested changes to improve energy efficiency, the house might very well be sold before the improvements paid off. And, there is no guarantee that the selling price of the house would be increased by enough to warrant the improvements.
If one is reasonably sure of staying in the house for 10 years or more, then probably the efficiency improvements could be justified economically. However, there is another consideration, i.e., comfort. An energy efficient house is more likely to be more comfortable because it can be maintained at a more steady temperature and is more likely to be draft free. So, even without the economic benefits of making the house more energy efficient, the improvements in comfort may justify the expense.