How Can Energy-Efficient Windows Work for You?
Posted by James Desmond on Fri, Jun 25, 2010 @ 10:00 AM
To understand how a window can help you save energy in your home, you need to understand how an energy-efficient window actually works. The concept is really quite simple: an energy efficient window slows down the rate of heat loss between the inside and outside of your home. Because energy moves from warm to cold areas, your window becomes a magnet. In the winter, the warm air inside the house tries to move outside to the colder air; in the summer, the warmer air outside tries to move inside. The air goes to the windows because they are less efficient than most other parts of the house, including the walls, floors, and roof. The air will successfully get out through the window cracks, openings in the frame, or right through older single-pane or poorly insulated double-pane windows. Even in well-sealed windows there is still some energy (heat) transfer through the glass since the glass conducts heat via conduction.
Energy-efficient windows include modern technologies to reduce air flow and heat loss. These technologies include glazing, low-E coatings, low-U values, and gases such as krypton or argon between panes. These efficient windows protect you from the chill in the winter and keep you cool in the summer. In addition, they will also reduce that dreaded condensation inside your windows. How well an energy-saving window performs depends on the construction of the window frame and the spacer material that separates the individual frames of glass inside the pane and the glass itself.
*For more information about Suburban's Energy-Efficient Replacement Windows, please click here.