Best Energy Efficient Windows
The best energy efficient windows have certain features that are made to reduce energy waste in one way or another. These features include; multiple glazing, thickness of air space, Gas filled, Tinted glass, Low-e, and edge spacers. Any of these features will affect the energy performance rating, which is displayed on the window when you purchase it. The energy rating sticker is divided into three sections; the first section shows the manufacturer, materials the window is made of, and the product type. The second section is the actual energy ratings; this is divided into two categories, U-Factor and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient. The U-Factor is the amount of heat that moves through the window in a one hour period. The lower the U-Factor, the better the window insulates the house. Solar heat gain coefficient measures the amount of heat from the sun that passes through the window. The higher the number, the more heat is allowed in. Confused yet? I bet you thought it would be easy to determine which windows would be your best energy efficient windows. TAke a few notes so that these relationships are fixed in your mind, then discuss your options with your local retailer. I'm confident that you'll make a good choice.
So if you live in a colder climate, you want this number to be high. If you live in a warm climate, you want to find windows where this measure is low. The third section shows additional performance, including visible transmittance and air leakage. These numbers tell you how much air leaks past the windows edge, so you will want to find windows with lower number here. Here are a few items that are usually included in the best energy efficient windows: •Multiple glazing uses more than one layer of glass or other materials in a window. The thickness in multiple layered windows will affect the insulating factor of the window. •Gas filled windows are just as they sound, multiple layers are filled with a gas (usually Krypton or Argon gas) to help with insulation. This gas has no negative effects on Superman. •Low-e glass is a glass coated with transparent coatings of silver or tin oxide. This allows light to come through but blocks heat from passing through. •High quality edge spacers will prevent air leakage. Replacing your old windows with energy saving windows will insulate your home 4 times more than your old windows you have now, this will save you money and our environment in the long run.
Regarding other heat losses, air infiltration is often overlooked. Casement and awning windows that close onto compression gaskets are generally tighter than double-hung or slider windows, and therefore can be your best energy efficient windows. Check the seal warranty. If you're building or retrofitting at high elevation, consider this: Significant overpressures and leakage may occur, if the windows are installed at an elevation much different from where they were made. Extreme differences may be hazardous. In these cases, install windows with pressure-equalizing valves. With a typical house wall insulated to R-19, wall studs and insulation breaks drop the effective value to maybe R-14. Suppose the wall includes some single pane windows that account for 25% of the wall area. Almost 5 times more heat passes through the windows as the rest of the wall. With typical low-E windows at U=0.35, this figure drops from 5 to about 1.6. On cold nights, you can feel the difference. For a high-end window with U=0.2, this number only drops to 1.2. You could easily pay more than double for the extra insulation. So, unless you're also super-insulating the walls to R-30 or better, the best energy efficient windows (most expensive) won't be cost-effective for you. But let's get real a moment. Most of us don't get to pick our windows. Sun angles and exposures are whatever the builder left us with. And we're not likely to spend thousands casually for a complete retrofit, unless our old windows are rotting and need replacement anyway. If new windows are beyond your budget, less costly options are available. For example, if you feel a cold draft even when your windows are closed, some careful caulking, sealing, and weather stripping provide a great return on your dollar. You can also add stick-on plastic, low-E films and insulated drapes to your old, single pane windows for less than the cost of window replacements. Use curved-end valances to enclose the whole frame. To conserve more heat, you can extend the drapes all the way to the floor.
A portion of the information on this page was taken from this page about energy efficient windows. If you're looking for more information about this subject, try visiting there.
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