Energy Efficient Windows

There was a time when the term window meant little more than a pane of framed glass, built along a wall, that served as a mediating device between the inside and outside world.

Those days are long gone. In fact, window technology, for want of a better term, has reached a point that almost requires home owners to have an engineering degree to understand their window replacement options.

Seriously, consider how many of your acquaintances would understand a discussion that included the terms, double-glazed, low-solar-gain, low-E glass, argon/krypton gas fill?

They might think you were talking about superman. However, in brief, the pharses are window terms that refer variously to the amount of heat and light a window allows to pass through the outside to the inside of a home.

Windows are now being produced to maximize energy efficiency according to location. Some windows are built to lower cooling costs in the south, while other windows are built to lower heating costs in the north.

A relatively new site, Efficient Windows Collaboration, attempts to bridge the gap between window technology improvements and home owner glass knowledge by covering the gamut of energy efficient window information, from the latest technologies to the latest building codes and tax policies.

One particularly useful section, the Window Selection Tool, provides information allowing the consumer to:

• Compare how various window or skylight types affect estimated energy cost for a typical house in your location
• Find manufacturers who offer windows and skylights within the categories shown
• Learn more about manufacturers' specific product options

The glossary provides a handy reference for understanding the new language of windows. Low-E Coatings, for example, are chemical coatings on windows intended to reduce the window's U-factor, or amount of heat that flows through a window, either outdoors to indoors or indoors to outdoors.

While the new high tech windows still do not make breakfast in bed or bring the morning coffee or newspaper, they provide an environment that makes those tasks more enjoyable.

The link to the article "types of windows" provides additional information on the structure and function of many common home windows to compliment the technological side of the glass embedded in them.

© 2010 Patricia A. Michaels