Firstly and most importantly, if you want to save money fast on your energy bills, don’t get boondoggled by alarmist advertising telling you to replace your windows! It takes years, if not decades to recapture the money you spend on new windows and their installation.
Installing efficient windows to save money
Energy Star windows are estimated to lower energy consumption by 7-15% for a typical 3-bedroom home in the United States. So, if your utility bill for electricity is say $200 per month, you’d save $14-$30 per month. Here’s an example featuring an unrealistically cheap installation. Let’s say you were able to install windows for $10,000, using the above monthly estimates, it would take 60 to 27 years to realize the financial breakeven point on what you paid out.
No, you are not installing new upgrades to save money. There are 5 things of more importance to consider.
- Increase your home’s value
Ever had the experience of prospecting for a new home or even an apartment to rent and pulling up outside the unit only to glance over at it and see the place had those old school little boxed in squared pane windows? It had all the curb appeal of a battered cardboard refrigerator box under a bridge. If eyes are the windows to the soul, then windows are reflections of a home’s value.
When you modernize and upgrade a home’s windows you immediately in turn enhance its perception in the neighborhood. Like a successful face lift everyone can tell there’s something refreshingly different and attractive, but they can’t quite put their finger on it. While semi oblivious, they’ll confess that the house certainly looks better.
New Home Buyers
Now to uninitiated buyers looking for new homes, there are no points of past reference. They only have appreciation for the beautiful new clear windows and know this house stands out in comparison to others they’ve seen. Better looking homes attract better prices. Yours will sell for more.
- Reduce your carbon footprint
Using less fuel to heat and cool your home obviously reduces your Contribution to the carbon footprint. Today more than ever people are conscientiously caring about the planet. Today people are all about electric vehicles, solar power, and conserving energy. It’s comforting when you do your part.
3.Put an end to drafts and creepy crawlies
When treatments become compromised due to exposure to the elements, the settling of structures, and deterioration of weather stripping they are susceptible to drafts and invasions by insects. An airtight home conserves energy and thwarts outside bugs, dust, and dirt. When you’re having to dust furniture and shelving more often than normal and when you’re seeing ants, water bugs, gnats, and even scorpions coming into your home, action is long overdue. With new Sol-Up energy efficient windows your home stays clean longer.
4.Stop maintenance headaches and expenses
The upkeep as homes age is an increasing nightmare. Wood splinters and dries. Decks need sanding down and re-sealing. Yards require constant maintenance and upkeep. Stucco needs to have cracks sealed and homes have to be repainted. When windows go bad problems are exacerbated. Grit and dirt blow in and grinds floors, coat walls, and come to rest in overhead ducts. On the rare occasions when it does rain here in the desert Southwest, old windows allow water to leak in and ceilings and walls get stained and sometimes severely damaged
5.Shut out the noise
Over the course of ten, twenty, or thirty years your windows’ effectiveness at blocking out noise has slowly eroded. It happened so slowly that it’s been imperceptible. It’s been like water running over a rock in a stream. Constantly going on yet unnoticed. If you could hear the howling of the wind or the thumping of that amplified radio pouring out of a passing teenager’s car the same way things were 30 years ago, you’d be shocked! Of course noise blocking works two ways. You want to stop sounds from getting into the house from the outside and most likely you’d like to avoid broadcasting sounds from inside the house to nosey neighbors outside.
Avoid being taken advantage of with window installation
when the time does come to upgrade your home as the old axiom goes, “Buyer beware.”
Just because the marketing and advertising for a window brand says it’s energy efficient doesn’t make it so. Be sure. Look for the Energy Star. That means the particular brand of windows you’re looking at are rated superior to 95% of others on the market. Look for the National Fenestration Rating Council energy performance label, sometimes referred to as the NFRC label. And in return It will tell you how well the product keeps heat from escaping, how well it resists heat gain, how effective it is at stopping air leakage, and how well it’s designed to allow light in. Gravitate toward windows that perform better and don’t become captivated by cheaper prices for products that don’t deliver.
Many Options to choose from:
Home options are like options for cars. At first you won’t be suspecting upgrades but unscrupulous window dealers have a variety of tack-ons and up charges. Resist investing in senseless things you don’t need. For example, in Nevada dual pane glass suffices. There’s no value in getting triple pane. While it will reduce noise better, the difference in temperature retention is minimal.
Types of windows to consider: Stay tuned for more content on choosing the right types of windows for your home.
We will be covering 7 main types of windows for your home:
Picture Windows.
Casement Windows.
Bay Windows.
Single-Hung Windows.
Double-Hung Windows.
Awning Windows.
Horizontal Sliding Windows.
When you’re shopping for windows be sure to contact Sol-Up Windows.
This award-winning company is highly regarded as an authority for both energy efficient doors and windows. Bonded, certified, and insured, their estimators will come to your home at your convenience and candidly discuss your needs and all available options including cost saving programs and generous federal tax incentives.
