subject: My Experience With Energy Efficient Window Replacements [print this page] I love learning new things and this week I learned so much about energy efficient window replacements. It all began with our family commitment to go "green" based on my daughter writing a report on the same subject for school. As far as caring for the environment, Greensboro, NC lives up to its reputation for being a progressive city. In our house, the first step we took was converting to a tankless water heater. Next spring we will turn our annual garden into an aquaponics system.
Before this winter arrives my husband and I decided to install energy efficient window replacements. The great thing about this project is that as soon as they are installed we will see a dramatic decrease in our heating and cooling bills, thus, we become more energy efficient and the investment starts paying for itself right away.
To be honest, those windows needed to be replaced anyway. Our home always reminded me of the guy who dresses up in a tuxedo then put on tennis shoes. We have all this beautiful heirloom furniture from the turn of the century, oriental rugs and timeless brass pieces; yet we would need to make sure that the drapes hid our outdated delaminated windows.
Half of the windows would not stay open without a prop, and the other half would never open. Energy efficient or not, the change was necessary.
Energy efficient and green technology
The windows we selected are manufactured as beautiful high-performance, eco-friendly windows and doors. The Low-E glass and our Warm-Edge Insulated Glass Sealant System make our home 40% more energy efficient overnight. Viewpoint, in and of itself is operating in a "green" way.
They use premium vinyl to maintain the highest quality and to reduce waste, and they also recycle their own vinyl scrap to maximize yield and minimize the impact on the local landfills. As much as 28% of the glass components are made up from reclaimed glass. In addition, it enables us to meet or exceed the highest energy standards. I was concerned about buying the wonderful windows and then handing them over to an installer who did not understand green technology.
E glass coatings
When it comes to the insulating properties of the windows we will purchase, we have two options. The first option is Low-E, which is the most effective solar glass available. It has layers of silver coating on it that keeps out the heat in the summer, and keeps in the heat in the winter. If you desire even more thermal protection, you can get the same double paned windows with argon gas between the panes for the lowest possible E-rating available for windows.
