Efficient Tips for Buying Energy Efficient Windows

The huge amount of money you pay for energy each year, in the scorching summer months and the freezing winter, can be reduced by using the energy efficient windows.

Your location and the design of your home plays an important role in selecting the type of energy efficient windows you want. A person living in the southern region will need different windows than someone living in the northern region as the climatic & environmental conditions are entirely different.

Design of home: The energy efficient windows, one of the important building hardwares, should be bought keeping the design of your home in mind. The direction of the windows and their size are important.

• In heat-dominated regions, windows facing south should be glazed heavily. To make efficient use of solar heat during cold months, the windows should possess a solar heat gain coefficient of more than .6 but a U-factor of less than .35 so that heat transfer is reduced during the summer.

• Person living in cooling-dominated regions should focus more on the north-facing windows. It should have low solar heat gain coefficient. The windows facing south should be shaded by trees and porches to minimize the intrusion of heat and sunlight. Reflective and tinted windows don't suit these climates because they reduce the SHGC and allow more heat during the spring and summer.

Windows Frame: The selection of window hardware like an appropriate frame is important.

• Earlier aluminum frames were quite popular but they are losing their value because aluminum conducts easily than other frame materials. It lead to heat detriment in cooling dominated regions. A fiberglass or composite frame would be better option, as they can be insulated better and won't conduct as much heat from the interior to the exterior of the home.

• The regions where temperature fluctuation is higher, wooden frames should be avoided because the material will expand and contract. Wood laminate frames is a better option and give the same aesthetic appeal.

Types of Glass: You should consider for the varieties of glasses before buying energy efficient windows. It is the main portion of your window and determines the amount of energy you conserve.

• If your living in heating-dominated regions, glass-filled windows are the best choice because they provide more insulation and reduce the U-factor considerably. Tinted glass is also quite good and popular, but if you have a green thumb then you should not use a tint of greater than 70 percent because that can cause inside plants to die from lack of conducted sunlight.

• Glaze glass is also a good option to consider while buying energy efficient windows. They have multiple panes of glass. Such types of glasses are best suited to cooler climate regions where heat transfer is highest and therefore heat needs to be retained. The cost of double-pane and triple-pane windows are higher than the single-pain but they last indefinitely and can significantly reduce cooling costs in the summer.