Sticker shock is a common phenomenon for anyone looking to get hurricane impact windows for their homes these days. Modern hurricane windows cost a lot—more than many homeowners expect. Especially if they’re from up north and are used to buying non-impact windows or the last time they bought windows was over 20 years ago.
If you’re looking up the cost of impact windows and are feeling flabbergasted by just how much they can run for new windows with installation, don’t worry, you’re not alone. But, why do they cost so much now, and what can you do to ameliorate (i.e., reduce) the impact of hurricane window costs on your finances?
First, let’s take a look at some of the average costs for impact-rated windows:
What Are Some Hurricane Windows Cost Averages?
How much does an impact window cost? The answer depends on a few different factors. First, and the biggest cost factor, is how large the window is. Bigger windows cost more to manufacture and install.
The next factor to consider is the style of the window. Certain types of windows have more or fewer moving parts, are more complicated to make or install, or may have other factors going for them that impact how much they cost.
Here are a few examples of average costs for each type of window on the market (installation costs included). It should be noted that these costs can vary depending on other factors:
- Single Hung Windows: ~$1,500
- Double Hung Windows: ~$1,900
- Sliding Windows: ~$1,600
- Picture Windows: ~$1,600
- Casement Windows: ~$2,000
- Awning Windows: ~$1,800
- Bay Windows: ~$6,000
These prices can go way higher or lower depending on window size, brand, special features, and installation location, among other factors.
In particular, the prices for picture, casement, and awning windows can vary wildly based on the window’s size. That’s because they typically only have a single large insulating glass unit, and those tend to increase in price exponentially beyond a certain point. Meanwhile, a single- or double-hung window has two smaller sets of glass in separate sashes, which means the price doesn’t jump as much as the overall size of the window increases.
Bay windows tend to cost the most since they typically consist of several smaller windows joined together in a single architectural feature.
Why Do Hurricane Windows Cost More Than Non-Impact Windows?
So, why do hurricane windows almost always cost significantly more than their non-impact counterparts? The thing about hurricane impact windows is that they have to be specially built to withstand more severe impacts than standard windows.
This means using tougher frames with heavier-duty windows, multiple layers of impact-rated glass, applying a laminate interlayer to further reduce the risk of broken glass spall in the home when a hurricane does cause the top layer of glass to crack, and extensive testing to verify that the window meets the Florida Building Code (FBC) requirements for impact windows.
These factors combined all work together to make impact windows costlier than their non-impact counterparts. Add to that the need for professional installation to ensure that every window is properly anchored to the building so that they don’t get pulled or pushed out of the window opening whenever there’s strong wind, and it’s easy to see why a hurricane-rated window has a higher price tag than a basic non-impact window from a big box store.
What Are the Biggest Factors Affecting Hurricane Window Costs?
The factors affecting window price are numerous, but here are the biggest cost factors that you should consider when purchasing impact-resistant windows:
1: Window Size
The bigger they are, the harder they are to manufacture, transport, and install. Big windows cost more to make, have to be specially reinforced to meet the same design pressure requirements that smaller windows have to meet, are much more challenging to transport from the manufacturer to your home, and require more labor to install.
Some smaller windows can be put in by a single installer in under a few hours, but really big windows often require multiple people to lift and properly install, multiplying the labor cost of installation.
So, a combination of more raw materials, costlier transportation, and extra labor all contribute to big windows costing more to put in your home.
One way that many homeowners have mitigated the cost of filling a large window opening is to use mullions to break up a big window opening into several smaller windows that are less expensive to make and install.
2: Installation Location
Where a window needs to be installed can have a huge impact on the cost of labor to install it (and the total installation time required). Installing a window on the first floor of a residential home typically doesn’t cost very much compared to installing on the fifth floor or higher of a condominium complex.
On higher floors, installers need to take time to remove the old window intact, carry it downstairs (and for big windows, the elevator may not be an option), then carry up the new window and put it in. Or, for some jobs in high-rise buildings, specialized cranes may be needed to install the window from the outside.
The manual carrying of windows up multiple floors can add hours to the window installation job. Meanwhile, the cost of equipment rental and a licensed crane operator is expensive. Either way, the cost of the installation will naturally increase exponentially the higher off the ground it has to occur.
3: Window Brand
Not all window brands are created equally… and they aren’t all priced equally, either! Some higher-quality brands tend to cost more than lower-quality brands.
At least, their upfront costs tend to be higher.
One of the things when you buy a cheap window is that the old saying “you get what you pay for” definitely applies to hurricane impact windows. Some cheaper brands skimp on the materials and engineering, putting out low-quality garbage that falls apart on its own within a few years of installation.
Particularly in the Florida market, it’s important to get a window that’s made of the right materials to ensure long-lasting durability, energy efficiency, and protection against hurricanes.
For example, some brands use cheap aluminum for their window frames. At first glance, it makes sense. Aluminum is highly durable for its weight, so an impact window with an aluminum frame should be able to withstand high-speed winds and impacts, right?
Well, the problem is that wind pressure and flying debris impacts aren’t the only things you need to worry about. Aluminum is susceptible to pitting corrosion when exposed to salty air and water. Considering that much of Florida falls within areas that get direct ocean breezes, that’s not a good thing.
Additionally, aluminum is an excellent conductor of not just electricity, but heat. Publications like the Thermal Conductivity of Aluminum Alloys—A Review by Ailing Zhang, et. al, note that “Aluminum has a thermal conductivity of 237 W m-1 K-1.” That’s 237 Watts per Meter Kelvin.
Compare this to polyvinylchloride (PVC), which has a thermal conductivity of just 0.19 W/mK, according to The Engineering Toolbox (Some sources cite it as being lower than this, such as 0.16 or 0.17). In other words, for every watt of thermal energy that a vinyl window frame would let through, an identically-designed aluminum window frame would allow in 1,247.36 watts of thermal energy.
There’s a reason baking sheets are usually made of aluminum.
Wood, on the other hand, is almost as good at insulating your home as vinyl, but has the little problem of being susceptible to wood rot, termites, splitting from moisture intrusion, and a whole host of other issues that can limit how long a wooden window frame lasts.
4: Custom Window Features/Add-Ons
Surprisingly far down the list of reasons why a hurricane window might cost more is the custom features you choose for your windows above and beyond them being impact windows in the first place.
Things like low-e glass, argon gas fills, special tints, custom hardware, window grids/grilles, it all adds to the cost of the window.
Fortunately in the case of low-e glass and other energy efficiency-enhancing features, while the initial cost for these windows is higher, the cost of ownership over time is actually lower, thanks to the energy savings they provide.
How to Save on Hurricane Windows Costs
So, what can you do to reduce the impact of installing hurricane windows on your household budget?
Here are a few key ways that you can alleviate the cost:
1: Use Government Programs to Help Cover Costs
Government programs like the My Safe Florida Home (MSFH) grant and the Florida PACE program can help homeowners reduce the budgetary impact of installing impact windows.
However, not every government program is right for every homeowner. And they all have their own qualification criteria that may make the program more or less available to you.
For example, the Florida PACE program is a government-backed loan program that helps homeowners secure the money needed to make home improvements that improve energy efficiency, wind damage mitigation, or other goals. The challenge is that the program has limited availability in Pasco and Hillsborough Counties at the moment, and isn’t available at all in Pinellas.
Additionally, since it’s a loan, you do need to repay it over time.
Meanwhile, the MSFH program is a grant—meaning that you don’t have to pay it back so long as you qualify for it. However, the application process and redeeming the grant can be a little complicated for some. There are multiple rounds of inspections, you need to pay for the improvements, and the improvements then have to pass another round of inspections before they’ll cut you a check covering part of your wind mitigation upgrades.
However, if you can meet the qualification criteria, it’s well worth applying for, as it can cover up to two-thirds of the cost of installing impact windows, up to a maximum rebate of $10,000 for spending $15,000 or more. Meaning that if you had to get $9,000 of impact window installation, the program would pay you $6,000 after the installation passes MSFH program inspection.
2: Do More Windows at Once
To save on costs, many homeowners do their window replacement in stages: a few here, a few there. While it makes each window installation less impactful on the budget in the short term, in the long run, you’re likely to pay more than you would if you did all your windows at once.
There are two big reasons for this.
First, by doing more windows at once, the cost of labor can be spent more efficiently, providing a savings since the installers aren’t coming in to do pre-install setup five or six times throughout the year, just the once. Many window installation companies offer discounts on whole home window replacement work for this reason.
Second, window prices, like so many other things in life, are always going up. Getting your windows done sooner rather than later can help you avoid these price increases so your windows cost less when you install them.
3: Leverage Window Financing
By installing more windows at once, you can find some savings on the cost of the installation, but not every homeowner has that much money on hand or even if they do, they don’t want to tie it up in a major home project when that money could be working for them elsewhere.
This is where window financing can help.
Financial service providers like GreenSky or Synchrony financial can pay for a portion of your window installation up front, then you can repay that loan over time. This allows you to keep your money invested in other things or save up for a rainy day, which Florida sees a lot of when hurricane season.
Right now, Karoly Windows has financing offers with both Synchrony Financial and GreenSky that allow homeowners to get their new impact windows with $0 down, then have no interest applied to the loan for 12 to 24 months after the signing date (the duration of the 0% interest rate varies by plan).
The best part? If you pay off your financing in full before the 0% introductory rate period ends, you wind up not having to pay any interest at all. Though, if not paid in full by the end of the introductory period, interest will be applied to the loan as per the normal interest schedule from the lender for that loan.
This program allows homeowners to get their windows without tying up personal assets. It can even be combined with programs like MSFH to pay for the windows now, then allow the MSFH program to cover the majority of the loan when that check clears.
Get a Great Value on New Hurricane Impact Windows!
Need impact windows before hurricane season starts in earnest? Worried about hurricane windows costing too much for what you might get? Reach out to Karoly Windows & Doors for a free in-person impact window consultation!
We’ll walk you through your impact window options and help you pick out the best windows for your home and budget! If you choose to work with us, we’re an MSFH-approved installer with a specialty contractor’s license for installing windows that never outsources work. That way, you know you’re getting top-quality installation along with your top-class impact windows!
Reach out now to get started!
