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How to pick out energy-efficient windows
Energy-efficient windows provide many benefits. By helping to keep heated and air conditioned air inside your home (and outside air outside) they can make your home’s temperature more comfortable, especially when they’re incorporated into a home whose overall design is efficient.
Energy-efficient windows can also help reduce utility bills and increase your property’s value, helping you saving money over time. So, what is an energy-efficient window? The short answer is a well-designed window that’s thermally broken (designed to block energy transfer between inside and outside) and features glass that is energy efficient. Glass is a vital part of the equation because it’s what most of a window surface area consists of. There are multiple ways to improve glass efficiency, which we’ll get into below.
When it comes to energy efficiency, there are multiple factors that affect window performance, including: the type of window, window glass, and accessory selections, like grilles. We’ll explain what to focus on in order to pick out the most energy-efficient windows for your home, including climate-specific selections.
How to pick out an energy-efficient window?
Selecting an energy-efficient window depends on your climate, your aesthetic preferences, and your budget. This means there’s not a single energy-efficient window that’s better than all others.
To pick the right window, you should focus on a few key selections, including:
- Window type: We offer many different types of windows — from the most popular options like double-hung and casement to many more. When selecting a type, it’s important to know that a window’s design can help make it more energy efficient. For example, picture windows are the most efficient because they don’t open. We’ll tell you about the most efficient types of windows below.
- Glass type: Double-pane glass and triple-pane glass are the two types of glass we offer with our windows. Both are insulated glass units (IGUs), so they offer superior insulation compared to the single-pane windows you might find on older homes. We’ll explain how to decide between these two types of IGUs below.
- Low-emissivity (Low-E) coatings: These glass coatings help boost a window’s performance by reflecting energy in a way that keeps conditioned air inside your home and outside air outside. All of our windows come with Low-E/Low-E4 standard. However, there are other Low-E glass options. We’ll explain what you need to know to choose the best one for your home.
While there are some universal truths — a picture window is always the most energy-efficient window and triple-pane glass is the most insulating — that doesn’t mean triple-pane picture windows are necessarily the best options for you.
Next, let’s talk about these selections in more detail, so you can pick out a window that will perform efficiently for your climate.
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What is a low-emissivity glass (Low-E) glass coating?
One of the ways windows can be optimized for a specific climate zone is with glass coatings. Low-E/Low-E4 glass coatings come standard with our windows. They are ultra thin, generally transparent, and improve window efficiency. These coatings work by reflecting or absorbing heat. They can also be combined so different coatings are used on different panes of glass in order to help create optimal performance.
One of the reasons triple-pane windows offer such superior performance is because the third pane offers an additional opportunity to include Low-E coatings. Here is what you need to know:
Low-E coatings for cold climates
Depending on the conditions, it might make sense to consider a coating that will help heat up the home in the winter, or one that will help protect the home further from the sun’s intensity. Consider the following:
