Window efficiency is a huge factor in keeping your home eco-friendly and energy efficient since, in a typical home, a lot of heating and cooling is lost through the windows. Here are some of the basic ways to do this with your home's windows.
Opting for Double Glazing
When you're building a new house or having the windows replaced, double-glazed windows are definitely worth the extra money. A single sheet of glass by itself is a highly inefficient window, so if you're trying to make your home energy-efficient, double glazing should be the minimum you'll accept.
Double glazing works by trapping a layer of inert gas (or sometimes a vacuum) between two glass layers. The result is still just as see-through as before (unlike with some window films) but its construction makes heat conduction very difficult and slows heat loss down significantly.
Adding Lamination, Low-emissivity, and/or Window Films
Lamination is typically marketed as a safety feature since it helps glass hold together after being shattered rather than falling all over the floor and causing a safety hazard. However, it can also help block some energy, such as UV rays, for example.
Some window films have a similar effect. You can also choose low-emissivity glass if you want to reflect radiant heat back from the windows. Low-E glass can reflect the sun's heat and energy back out when the sun hits the window, but it can also reflect radiant heat back into your home in the winter, keeping your expensive heating bills down.
Using Shade Effectively
Shade can help you physically block the sun's potent rays from your windows. This can still be helpful even if you have well-insulated, low-E windows.
Although these types of windows can block a high percentage of heat gain from the sun, there's still a percentage that gets through so the more sun hits the window, the more heat the window accrues. So keeping your windows shaded, especially from the hot midday sun, can be a big help. You can use awnings, shutters, shading window screens, and even picturesque bushes and trellised vines to provide shade.
These basics will help you significantly reduce the amount of heated air that escapes through your windows in the winter and the amount of cooled air that escapes in the summer. If you live in a very hot climate, working on the summer aspect first makes sense. In a very cold northern climate, triple-glazed windows with low-emissivity glass may be your best bet. Contact a company that offers replacement windows, such as Windows Plus, for more information.
