What Makes A Window Energy Efficient?
A pane of glass will not insulate your home. The problem is that during the winter, the pane of glass will absorb heat from inside your home, and as cold air moves across the window on the outside, it will absorb heat from the window. In other words, heat is constantly leaking out of your home through the windows. Window manufacturers will try various strategies to improve the energy efficiency of your windows, and by understanding how each strategy works, you will be better prepared to choose a good window for your home.
Multiple Panes
One strategy manufacturers use is to install multiple panes into one frame with a layer of gas between the panes. The idea is that the layer of gas will isolate the inside pane from the outside air. A single pane of glass will have an R-value of about 1 and a triple-pane window will have an R-value of about 3. Thus, you can improve the energy efficiency of your windows by 200% simply by opting for a triple-pane window. On the other hand, because your walls have an R-value of about 13, you still have room to improve the energy efficiency of your windows.
Insulating Gases
Some multiple-pane windows will use a layer of oxygen between the panes of glass. If you want better insulation, you need to use a denser gas like argon or krypton. These gases are more expensive than oxygen, but they will help you save money over the long run by decreasing your energy bills.
Window Films
The insulation in your walls insulates your home by trapping air inside the insulation. You can't use this insulation in your windows because it would block off your view of the outside world. Window films are transparent, and they insulate your home by reflecting the sun's UV rays away from your home during the summer and reflecting heat back into your home during the winter. In this way, window film can reduce your cooling costs by 23% and your heating costs by 25%.
When you are looking for energy-efficient windows, you should look for windows that have at least one of the options above. For example, you could use triple-pane windows with oxygen between the panes of glass or double-pane windows with argon. While one money-saving strategy is good, finding windows that have all three of the strategies described above will help you to save the most money over the long run. Talk to a window company, like Mister Window Inc, to learn more.
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