Energy Efficient Windows: What They Are and Why You Should Care | Flower Mound, TX
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We’re living in a global village nowadays, and everyone is becoming increasingly aware of their responsibilities when it comes to conserving and preserving our environment and natural resources. This isn’t just for our own benefit, but for the benefit of the generations that will come after we are long gone. For homes and businesses all across the globe, one of the most effective ways identified is through the utilization of energy efficient windows.
Energy efficient windows are not a radical development in the world of construction, green or otherwise. These window types have long been identified as a great way to simultaneously save on energy costs for your home or office while doing your part in minimizing the impact of your energy consumption (your carbon footprint) on the earth. Should you be within or around the Flower Mound, TX region of our great nation, then we’re just the professionals to help set you up so you can play your part in keeping green, while saving yourself a pretty penny to boot.
Before making the decision to switch to energy efficient windows, it might be useful to know a little bit more about them, so let’s dive into their world for an informative minute.
How Exactly Do Energy Efficient Window Work?
For the longest time in the storied history of building construction, windows have been considered one of a building’s major avenues of energy leakage. This refers to their role as one of the major points through which a building will lose its heat energy to the outside world. In western climates that experience freezing winters such as that of our locality of Flower Mound, TX, the direct ramification of this reality is an increase in the cost of internal heating. This is one of the major electric cost factors for homes and businesses in the United States.
Inefficient, cold window frames and panes will dissipate the heat generated by our HVAC systems to the outside world through the process of conduction. The warm air emanating from your heating system will make its way to the bitterly cold spans of your windows, get cooled down, and this cold air will then sink towards the ground for warmer air to take its place by rising upwards. This, in a nutshell, is the genesis of the cold draughts you occasionally feel.
The end result is that you will be losing heat to the outside world, making it necessary for your heating system to consume more energy to replace the lost warmth, thus inevitably translating to increased heating costs. That’s not the way to save your wallet or your environment from harm.
Energy efficient windows effectively mitigate this effect through the use of materials and features that greatly increase their insulation value and thus make them much better at preserving heat. One of the most prominent of these features, which we are proud to make available to our Flower Mound, TX, clients, is the use of multiple panes of glass within a single fixture. Between these panes of glass, we input the extremely inert Argon or Krypton gases, which work to further diminish the conductive properties of the window fixture.
It’s important to note that energy efficient windows are not only useful during the cold winters of Flower Mound, TX. Hot summers are also an occasion for energy loss in our homes and offices through our window fittings. When it is hot outside, our air conditioning might be working full-blast to counteract the warming effects of outside temperatures on our internal climates.
The multiple pane solution works to keep the cool air in and the hot air out in reverse of its winter function. A reflective coating over the entire setup goes a step further in repelling the heat waves that would seek to turn your sanctuary into an oven. An expensive oven at that.
If you occasionally experience a sudden draught of cold air within your home or office, then know that you have an inefficient window in place. Such a situation will only be exacerbated by the presence of cracks or gaps around the edges of your window fitting. Energy efficient windows are achieved in conjunction with a proper, professional installation and fitting. You might have the most effective and efficient window in the world, but its effect will be negated if it’s not properly placed.
What Should We Look for in Energy Efficient Windows?
Energy efficient windows might be new to some of us in the Flower Mound, TX region, so it might be instructive to note a few of the things to look of when considering a replacement for your windows. Here are the some of the instructive factors that will steer you to the right energy window solution for you:
- U-Factor: This is a function the heat loss properties of a window. Energy efficient windows will have a low U-factor. For cold winter climates the lower this factor the better.
- Solar heat gain coefficient: The amount of heat passing through the windows as a result of direct sunlight is indicated here. Warmer climates call for energy efficient windows with a low solar heat gain coefficient.
- Air leakage factor: The more likely you are to experience draughts in your building, the higher this number will be.
Condensation Resistance
Visible light transmittance: In much the same way that sunglasses work, energy efficient windows may have varying degrees of ‘transparency’ when it comes to visible light. The choice here will depend on your preferences.
Should all these factors seem a bit too involved, then a standardized, transparent, and reliable way to instantly recognize quality when it comes to energy efficient windows, not only in Flower Mound, TX, but throughout the United States is by looking for an Energy Star certification.
Go for the Real Deal
All of our energy efficient window solutions are duly certified by the government agency responsible for issuing them, guaranteeing that what you get will be to the very highest standards of cost-effectiveness, durability, reliability, and eco-consciousness within the industry. Go green the right way; contact Energy Window Solutions today for you all your energy efficient window solutions.