|
POWER SMART™ WINDOWS ENERGY STARŪ Labeled Windows
This long-term investment offers many benefits in the way of comfort and value to your family. Certified by an independently accredited agency for quality and energy performance, ENERGY STARŪ windows can reduce condensation and outside noise, reduce heating costs, protect from sun damage and fading, increase comfort by regulating temperature in hot and cold seasons.
ENERGY STARŪ is an internationally recognized symbol that indicates superior energy-efficiency in its class.
Energy Efficient Windows.
Many older homes were built with single-paned windows with little insulating value or resistance to heat flow. Some windows have metal frames, which act as a heat conductor into the home in hot months and out of the home in cold months. Energy-efficient windows have a thermal break in the frame to prevent this, and using technologically advanced materials such as vinyl (PVC) for the frame have made a real difference in maximizing window insulation properties.
Low-E Windows
Since heat easily passes through clear glass, one way to reduce heat loss through the glass is to coat the window with a very thin, transparent layer. This low-emissivity coating, called Low-E, reduces the amount of radiant heat and ultraviolet rays that pass through the window, resulting in a reduction in sun damage and fading to objects, and energy economy. This Low-E coating is usually applied on the surface of one of the panes nearest the trapped air space (area 2 or 3 on the following diagram).
A window coated with Low-E has the approximately the same insulating value as an uncoated triple glazed window; Low-E improves the value from R-2 to R-3 to R-4 depending on the coating type.
Low-E coatings are available in two types: northern or hard-coat, which maximizes solar heat gains and reduces heat loss at night, or southern or soft-coat, which reduces solar heat gain and heat loss at night. House Smart Home Improvements is professionally qualified to assess and determine which type of Low-E window is best for your home.
Advantages
Low-E windows will return on their investment in a reasonably short period of time, as well as provide a reduction in energy bills for years. There is increased personal comfort near windows, a reduction in the furniture and window treatment fading, and in mildew and deterioration of the window frame.
|
