Everybody wants to save money. Especially considering that the cost of just about everything keeps going up year after year with no end in sight. One way to save money each month is to buy energy efficient windows for your home.
The right windows can help you cut your energy bills significantly, consistently saving some of your monthly budget for other things… but installing whole new windows isn’t the only way to improve their energy efficiency.
There are other ways to enhance window energy efficiency, but are they really the best options for your home?
Let’s discuss some of the ways to improve your window’s energy efficiency and when buying entirely new energy efficient windows might be the best option for you:
Option 1: Improving Window Energy Efficiency Through Basic Maintenance
Before considering any major upgrades to your windows that will cost you a significant amount of money, first check to see if you can’t improve your energy efficiency by performing some basic maintenance on your windows.
Doing things like checking seals, weatherstripping, and caulking around the window can help you identify a source of a draft. If there’s an issue like worn weatherstripping, cracked sealing tape, or chipped/cracked caulking, you can remove the old material and replace it with a little effort and some basic supplies from your local hardware store.
For many homeowners who already have good energy efficient windows, this can be the best way to maximize their window’s energy efficiency. It’s fast, easy, and cost-effective in this particular use case.
However, if the glass in the window itself is cracked or if the window has poor energy efficiency characteristics to begin with, this fix won’t do much to improve your window’s energy efficiency.
Option 2: Improving Window Energy Efficiency with Glass Films
There are a lot of businesses that offer ‘cheap’ upgrades for your existing windows in the form of temporary glass films that go over the window. Many of these businesses even advertise that the coatings they apply are the same as the ones that manufacturers install in their energy efficient windows.
And, adding a low-e glass coating to an existing window can be a great way to improve its energy efficiency… assuming that nothing touches that window for the rest of your life.
While it’s entirely possible that a film application company may be telling the truth when they claim to be applying the same kind of coating as the manufacturer, what they may neglect to mention is that the window film they’re adding is being applied to an outer layer of glass where it can be scraped or damaged by exposure to the elements (if on the outside) or from daily cleaning (if on the inside).
Manufacturers get around this limitation by applying their Solar Control low-e glass films in between layers of glass where nothing will touch it. For a window tint or film company to do the same, they’d have to disassemble the window sash, apply the film, reassemble your window sash, and reinstall it back in the original frame.
That would be a lot of extra labor that would largely negate the cost savings of avoiding whole window replacement by using the film in the first place.
Also, some companies may try to pass off simple privacy tint as energy efficient tints on the theory that darker tints block sunlight, so obviously they block thermal transfer. That is most emphatically not the case.
Privacy tints reduce visible light transmittance (VLT), not necessarily the ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) radiation that is what actually carries heat into your home.
Fun fact: According to NASA, bumblebees can see UV spectrum light, even though humans can’t. Also, because UV radiation has shorter wavelengths at higher frequencies, it can penetrate obstacles that block visible light, such as certain tints that aren’t specially made to block the high-frequency radiation. It’s also what causes sunburn when you’re outside without sunscreen for too long during the day.
If anything, darker tints on windows make energy efficiency worse, as darker tints actually absorb and retain extra heat to radiate into your home. Anyone who has owned a black car in Florida vs a white one can tell you what a difference paint color can make in just how hot their cars are after a hot summer day.
Adding a film can be a great way to temporarily improve energy efficiency if you can ensure that nothing will damage the tint, but in most cases, you’ll find your tint wearing out all too quickly!
Option 3: Choosing to Buy Energy Efficient Windows
Completely replacing older, less energy efficient windows with newer ones that have strong energy efficiency enhancements like low-e glass, multiple glass panes with air gaps (especially ones filled with argon gas), and vinyl window frames can be a great way to massively improve your home’s energy efficiency.
When you buy energy efficient windows, you can maximize your energy savings with expert installation that ensures the whole window opening is properly sealed and insulated (as replacing your windows won’t generate much in the way of energy savings if the opening around the window frame isn’t sealed and insulated properly).
The tradeoff with this method compared to minor repairs to weatherstripping is that it tends to be costly. You are, after all, paying for a whole new window and professional installation for that window.
However, if you have older windows that lack key energy efficiency features or have windows that are outright broken to the point of needing replacement anyways, choosing to buy energy efficient windows and getting them professionally installed may be your best option.
Option 4: Using Glass Replacement Services
Another alternative some companies like to promote is replacing the glass in an existing window with new glass. While this can be a better option than just adding film, as it mandates removing the old glass and installing new glass that can then have better energy efficiency and impact resistance, it still lags behind completely replacing your existing windows as an energy efficiency measure.
Why? Because, the glass isn’t the only thing that affects your window’s energy efficiency. As noted in the previous section, if the opening around the window frame isn’t properly insulated (which is very likely with older windows), then the most energy efficient glass in the world won’t make much of a difference since air leaks around the window will still let in outside air.
Additionally, you have to consider the window frame itself. If you put low-e glass in an aluminum window frame, it’s still an aluminum window frame. In the summer, that window frame will radiate heat from the outdoors directly into your home with extreme speed, basically acting like a space heater every time it’s hot outside.
Aluminum has a high thermal conductivity, The exact amount varies depending on the alloy and the supplier. For example, IRB Fraunhofer states that the aluminum used for commercial fenestration (i.e., windows and doors) has a thermal conductivity of 160 W/mK (watts per meter Kelvin), while other sources have stated it to be higher than 210 W/mK for some alloys.
Meanwhile, that same IRB Fraunhofer paper notes that the PVC (polyvinylchloride) used in vinyl windows has a thermal conductivity of 0.17 W/mK. In other words, for every watt of thermal energy a vinyl window frame lets into the home, an aluminum frame would let in over 941 watts of thermal energy.
So, putting energy-efficient glass in an aluminum window would not produce much energy efficiency benefit for your home.
Finally, if you had an argon gas fill before replacing your glass, you probably won’t after swapping the glass, as the process means breaking the seal on your window that holds the inert gas in… which means having to get that gas fill replaced, if you had one.
Worse, if you’re replacing glass without replacing the window sash and frame in a non-impact window, you may not be getting the level of impact resistance you need to maintain compliance with the Florida Building Code (FBC). This can lead to a whole host of other problems, not the least of which is a hurricane throwing a piece of street debris at your window and knocking the shiny new impact glass out of the non-impact frame.
When You Should Buy Energy Efficient Windows
Clearly, we tend to favor whole window replacement over adding a film or replacing the glass in a window. But, do you need to replace your whole window? Here are a few situations where you might choose to buy new windows rather than performing minor repairs, adding a film, or replacing the glass.
You should consider whole window replacement to improve energy efficiency if one or more of the following applies:
- You have metal window frames. The thermal conductivity of metal compared to vinyl is so high that it makes it nearly impossible for a metal-framed window to be truly energy efficient, even with air gaps in the frame.
- You have single-paned windows. A single layer of glass, even when treated with a coating of low-e film, doesn’t do enough to prevent the transfer of heat between your home and the outside. Two panes of glass are a bare minimum for creating an air gap that can inhibit heat transfer.
- Your windows are over 20 years old. Most windows last about 20 years when cared for properly. If your windows are more than 20 years old, it may be time for a replacement anyways.
- You want to change window styles. Replacing your windows entirely is a great opportunity to update window styles to something more modern and attractive (or easier for you to use). If you have windows that you think are an eyesore or just plain don’t like, that’s reason enough to get a window replacement done!
- Your windows are sticking or have broken hardware. If you’re having problems getting your windows to open and shut properly or the window hardware is broken, it’s probably time to completely replace that window (or, if it’s still under warranty, to contact the installer or manufacturer about a warranty replacement).
If your windows only have minor faults, like chipped caulking or worn weatherstripping, then simple maintenance may be all you need. However, if your windows are old, broken, and lacking energy efficiency features, it might be time to upgrade by replacing your old windows with new, energy-efficient vinyl-framed ones.
Buy Energy Efficient Windows from Karoly Windows!
With new energy efficient windows, the quality of your window installation can make or break your window install. Be sure to get your new windows installed by a reliable team of professionals who understand the importance of doing work the right way the first time.
Karoly Windows & Doors specializes in installing impact-rated windows with strong energy efficiency features. We maximize your window’s energy efficiency by making sure to use top-notch insulation around the window installation site to eliminate air leaks and drafts that reduce energy efficiency in your home.
On every window installation, we use our own, in-house team of experts to handle the installation. We never outsource installation work to a third party subcontractor. When the Karoly trucks pull up to your home, the installers in them are all Karoly employees. This lets us hold our installation teams to a high standard of performance so you can rest assured that you’re getting the best installation quality and results, every time.
Looking to buy energy efficient windows for your home? Reach out to Karoly Windows today to get started!
