I wanted to talk about windows and I don't mean Microsoft Windows but the ones we have in our homes. Some of us live in older homes with single pane windows and others with the newer double pane Low-E windows.
My family owned a window and door company called National Builders Supply in Dallas for years and I worked there for awhile before I got into real estate. My father opened his business in 1953 and passed it on to my brother who finally sold it in 2004. So, window talk is something I've grown up with and I believe it is a product that can really change our houses and something most consumers don't pay much attention to. It can completely change the look of a house and it can change the energy efficiency of our homes.
In 2001, Texas adopted the Texas Building Energy Standards as an innovative way to help meet federal Clean Air Act requirements in nonattainment areas of the state. This new standard went into effect several months later on September 1, 2001 and required all new construction and replacement windows to be Low-E (Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) of .4 or less). Reducing solar gain means decreasing air conditioning loads by as much as 30 percent during the summer.
So, what the heck is SHGC? The Solar Heat Gain Coefficient is a number between 0 and 1 which indicates how much solar radiation is getting through the glass. The lower the number the better because that means less heat is getting through. And that means cooler houses in the hot summer months in Texas. Another important value to remember is the U-Factor. The U-Factor is related to the heat loss that a window experiences. Again, a lower number is better because it indicates a window's resistance to heat flow and the better its insulating value. The larger the heating bill the more important the U-Factor is to you.
You will see this NFRC label on all windows you purchase. If you understand how the U-Factor & SHGC affect your home, you can select the best window for your situation.
So, to accomplish the energy saving we need in Texas, we use Low-E windows. Low-E, or low emissivity, refers to a transparent metallic coating applied to one surface of an insulating glass unit. A window with low-E glass can lower your energy bill because in the summer it reduces the amount of the sun's heat from entering the home, lowering the cooling demand. In the winter, low-E reflects some of the interior heat back into the home, reducing the need for heating. Some types of low-E glass are designed primarily for summer cooling and some are better for winter heating.
I have first hand experience with what wonderful new windows can do. I purchased an older home with all single pane aluminum windows in October 2000. The first winter my husband and I froze. We had the heater turned up to 80+ and the fire going but it didn't help. We could stand by the windows and feel the cold air coming in. So, in the spring of 2001 we replaced every window in our house with double paned Low-E vinyl windows. It was an expensive project but our windows look great and it cut our heating bill in half and helped save us from the Texas heat.
I didn't even touch on the different types of frames available for windows and how they affect your energy bill. The frame of the window is what can dramatically change the look of the house as well. I'll save this for next time.
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