Advantages Of Energy Efficient Picture, Bay, and Bow Replacement Windows | Lewisville, TX
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Installing replacement windows in your home grants many benefits. Picture, bay, and bow windows admit natural sunlight and enhance outdoor views. They can also improve exterior appearances and add value if you ever choose to put your home on the market. Replacing older windows with energy efficient options is an environmentally-friendly choice and reduces heating and cooling costs.
Picture Windows
Picture windows can not be opened and closed. Their purpose is aesthetic. Classic picture windows are large and stationary with low-profile frames to allow more visible glass and promote an unobstructed view. Many picture windows are rectangular. They are placed to provide a focal point that offers views of gardens or landscaped yards, an ocean, river, or other body of water, mountains, and other beautiful scenery. The designation ‘picture window’ is very fitting. The window frames scenery as though it was a large photograph or piece of art.
Adding a picture window when you install replacement windows in your home can allow more natural light to enter dark rooms and highlight outdoor attractions. It also increases a home’s curb appeal and acts as a facelift for the front of a house.
Bay Windows
Homeowners choose to install replacement windows for many reasons. Bay windows accent a home’s exterior appearance and increase indoor square footage. Bay windows project outward to add space and make small rooms feel more spacious by admitting natural light from several directions. It is usually best to install bay windows on the side of your home that doesn’t overlook roads or sidewalks.
Maintenance requirements tend to decrease because bay replacement windows are strong, sturdy, and durable. Their unique shapes create little coves that are perfect sites for reading, displaying potted herbs and other plants, or simply providing a comfortable place to view the outdoors. Larger coves can even be turned into kitchen nooks to enjoy meals in sunlight with lovely outdoor views. Sometimes bay windows are referred to as small sunrooms. They’re a great option when there isn’t enough room for a full-size sunroom.
Bay windows usually consist of one large picture window and smaller windows on either side. The design incorporates angled projections, usually at 25°, 35°, or 45° angles, to produce a geometric appearance of flat planes and lines. You can choose from a variety of side window designs, including double-hung, casement, single-hung, or fixed.
This adds a lot of extra glass that can add to air conditioning costs in hot weather in Lewisville, TX. Energy Star certified replacement windows help to mitigate this problem. New energy efficient windows can lead to lower energy costs, even if they are bay windows, if the previous windows in the home were old and brittle. Functional side windows also provide ventilation, which can help cool your home on windy days.
Bay windows are only an option for homes with stable, structurally sound foundations. Homeowners should also remember that the distinctive size, shape, and design of bay windows requires specific draperies or curtains. Purchasing drapes and curtains can be expensive, but high quality materials can last for years.
Bow Windows
Bow windows are similar to bay windows, but they usually have four or five piece designs. Their overall structure is semi-circular and curved so it appears round from the outside. The additional glass surfaces let in more natural sunlight than most bay window designs and provide a panoramic view of outdoor scenery. Replacement windows are frequently installed in beautiful designs. Bow windows can be wrapped around building corners to form a captivating turret shape while simultaneously creating a nook inside. This design offers views from two sides.
The downside to these elegant designs is the challenge of including windows that open. The opening mechanisms need to be installed very close together and almost always interfere with the curved structure and overall aesthetic appeal, so fixed windows are much more common.
Bow window dressings almost always need to be customized because the window designs are all different. This is an opportunity to enhance the interior and exterior appearance of your home. Choose window coverings to accent existing decorative themes or create something unique. Roman or Venetian blinds can be hung individually for each pane. You can also use a tapestry or patterned curtain to separate the window alcove from the rest of the room.
Bow, Bay, or Picture Window?
Choosing between bay, bow, or picture windows depends on a variety of factors. Bow windows have a slimmer profile than bay windows and take up less space beyond the home’s exterior. This is relevant in areas where homes are very close together. Picture windows don’t extend beyond the exterior surface at all. Neither picture or bow windows open in most cases, so people that like open windows for fresh air should probably choose bay windows.
Installing bay or bow replacement windows is a job for professionals. Existing window openings may need to be enlarged, reinforced, and framed. The size and weight of bow or bay windows require careful planning to ensure adequate support. Homeowners also need to know that many bow window installations are combined with soffit tie-in or new hip roofs to ensure an appropriate seal to repel air and water.
A combination of energy efficient replacement windows and new seals around the window and roof can significantly improve the overall energy efficiency of your home. Glass panes with Low-E coatings are ideal for bay, bow, and picture windows because the coating doesn’t reduce visible light, but it does reduce the amount of solar heat entering the home’s interior.
Contact Energy Window Solutions in Lewisville, TX, to find the best replacement windows for your home.