In February the Federal Trade Commission handed down a complaint against five window manufactures for making wildly false claims in their marketing material about expected energy savings from their replacement windows.

This is not to say that you should not pay attention to your windows with an eye toward energy savings and possibly even consider replacing them.  But on average most window replacements will reduce overall energy bills less than 5%, not the 50% claimed by some manufactures.  But there are other reasons than return on investment that may encourage you to replace your windows.  One of those reasons is comfort.  Good windows will make your home more comfortable.  The other reason is aesthetics.  Windows frame the world beyond and should be just as beautiful as your best framed work of art.  Indeed, a properly placed window may be your best piece of art. A high quality window will encourage you to open it on a nice day, unlike poor quality windows that must be fought to get them opened and closed. These are good reasons to replace windows, but most people are sold new windows on the idea that they will have a short return on investment, which is seldom the case.

But you do not have to replace your windows to improve their energy efficiency. Typically windows pose two energy loss problems: Thermal transfer and air leakage.

In our hot humid part of the world we are primarily concerned with transferring energy into the house.  Shading is a key factor in reducing heat transfer into the house.  This is true on all exterior surfaces but especially on windows that have the least resistance.  One of the first things that might be considered is landscaping.  Can a large tree or other shade plant help out?  On western windows awnings might be an option to consider.  Pergolas and covered porches can also be an effective way to provide relieve.  Since 2002 low-e coatings have been required on windows in conditioned spaces in Texas.  On homes older than this, these coating can be added though it is a touch process that puts the coating outside of the glass rather than between two panes of glass where they will last much longer.  Blinds and shades can also provide effective protection from sunlight.  Solar shades can provide a dramatic reduction in heat gain on windows that get a lot of direct sun.

Making sure that windows are properly aligned and well caulked will help reduce air leakage. Storm windows can help reduce both heat transfer and air leakage when properly installed.  Making sure that sashes are properly shut and locked will also help reduce air leakage.

You can find more information on reducing energy loss though windows here.

This is part of a project we recently completed on Hugh Stearns’ personal home –

Our carpenters mixed, poured, and installed custom concrete sills. They also installed new windows, a new door, and the intricate surrounding trim.

Take a look at the pictures!

If your kitchen is dark, cramped, and closed off, it’s probably not a kitchen you enjoy being in. The smart placement of windows can transform your kitchen by bringing in daylight, connecting the space to the outdoors, and creating an overall feeling of openness. Here are some different window arrangements that can improve the character of your kitchen.

1. Increase the height of your windows, stretching them from countertop height to the ceiling. This not only allows more light into the space, but also creates less of a barrier between your kitchen and the outdoors.
2. Devote an entire wall to windows, increasing the feeling of flow between your kitchen and the outdoors. These can be windows of any size. A good place for you window-wall might be in the informal eat-in area of your kitchen so as not to sacrifice cabinet space. But keep in mind that wall cabinet space can be gained back in other ways if you feel like a wall of windows is the best idea for your kitchen.
3. Creating a corner window in your kitchen is another good way to increase the feeling of connection to the outdoors. Corners can be awkward places in a kitchen when it comes to storage and cabinetry. By replacing awkward storage with windows, you can turn your corner into a cheery spot.
4. If you have a small kitchen, placing a window adjacent to a perpendicular surface (like a wall or cabinetry) can really brighten up the room. Light entering from the window will bounce off the wall or cabinetry into the rest of the space which will feel much less cramped.
5. Flanking windows with cabinetry, shelves, and/or soffits creates more surfaces for light to be reflected and directed into your kitchen. It’s also a great way to maximize storage space in your kitchen.

When you see a picture of a kitchen in a magazine or online that you love, take note of how windows are arranged in the space to bring in the outdoors. These arrangements can be utilized when remodeling your kitchen or designing a new one to create the bright, cheery, open kitchen of your dreams.

Windows on the East, West, and South side of your home receive direct sunlight throughout the day and can cause your home to gain unwanted heat. During the colder winter, some of this heat might be welcome, but you definitely want to keep it out during the hot summer. Overhangs and awnings are green building solutions that achieve this result. They can be incorporated into new home design and additions to existing homes. Not only do these overhangs add functionality, but they also add interest  and depth to the façade of your home. They can even create shaded outdoor areas like porches that you can enjoy.

At Stearns, we believe in a home’s connection to its surrounding environment—so then, in what way can nature help to reduce heat gain and the energy bills that come with it? Shade trees can prevent unwanted heat from entering your home (and of course they also provide a lovely place to sit or play under with your family). Plant deciduous trees on the South side of your home, so that during the winter when the trees lose their leaves you’ll have some warm summer sun for your spaces. By planting evergreen trees and other greenery along the West and East sides of your home, you can ensure that those areas are shaded all year long. Trees can be trimmed up so you don’t lose the views out of your windows, while still enjoying their shade. Try to select trees that are native to the Brazos area so they are accustomed to the climate. Trees do take time to grow – but consider it a long term investment for the efficiency and beautification of your home!

So, what are defining efficient characteristics of window types? The main distinctions in windows include the number and type of glass panes, as well as any coatings on the glass pane.

Single and Multiple Panes

Your traditional old-style window is a single pane of glass. This single layer of glazing isn’t very good at keeping the heat out and the cold in here in Bryan-College Station (or anywhere for that matter!). This low thermal resistance means that heat is entering your home, making you less comfortable, and causing you to turn your A/C on even higher! This is why it’s a good idea to upgrade your single pane systems to higher efficiency windows with more layers of glazing. Double pane windows mean there are two layers of glass with a sealed space in between. This space includes air or gas (such as argon) and acts as an insulating barrier to stop heat from entering or escaping through your window. There are also triple or quadruple pane windows that have three and four glass panes with gas filled spaces. To try to reduce the bulk of these windows there has been experimentation with thin plastic instead of glass panes. Although these triple and quadruple panes do in most cases insulate to a higher level, you can get just about the same savings and efficiency with a double pane window for your home.

Glass Coatings

Multiple pane windows also can come with what is called a low-e coating. This means they have a micro-thin coating of transparent metal on one surface of one pane of glass that helps to block heat transfer and loss. This is a characteristic that really increases the efficiency of a window, helping to keep the interior surface of the window cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. This decreases heating and cooling loads, keeping your home comfortable without as much energy waste. Low-e coatings can also help to block UV light which reduces fading in furniture and other household items. Glass in windows can be tinted or have a tinted film applied to them that reduces heat gain, but this has some drawbacks. Tints can darken a space by reducing the amount of visible light let through the window or by adding a color to the light. Tints can also absorb heat during the summer which cancels out its purpose of reducing heat gain. This makes low-e coated windows an overall better selection for homes.

Multiple Pane Spacer Materials

Multiple pane windows require a spacer bar between panes of glass. This bar material is normally aluminum. Because this material doesn’t insulate well and can cause condensation in the window, other options are being explored. These “warm-edge” spacers are made from lower conductive metals, plastic, and even foam—all help increase the U-Factor of the window system, meaning a decrease in heat transfer.

With this knowledge, you can have confidence when selecting efficient windows. For even more information, see yesterday’s blog about NFRC and Energy Star labels. But be sure to do as much homework as you can. Find out about warranties offered by manufacturers to help with a long term perspective of upgrading your windows.

It’s great that there are so many options of high efficiency windows that you can choose from. This makes saving energy and increasing the comfort of your home all that much easier to do. Though, easier might not seem like the right word when you’re staring at a vast array of windows. But, there are labels with information on each window to help you not feel overwhelmed or out of the loop when you and your contractor are selecting upgraded windows to install.

Windows are designed for different climates in the United State and are Energy Star Qualified by region. There should be an Energy Star label for each window that shows which region the window is for– the Brazos area falls under the Southern region.

Another label you should look out for is the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) label. This has information about the performance of the whole window as a unit. On this label are certain categories with numbers that are important to understand— the main focus of most of these categories for our area in Bryan-College Station is keeping heat out during our long stretches of hot weather.

The U-Factor category measures how well the window resists heat transfer. A lower number means less heat is transmitted through the window. For our region, Energy Star recommends that .60 be the maximum U-Factor.

The Solar Heat Gain Coefficient is another category. The SHGC number illustrates how well the window blocks the heat that comes with sunlight. Energy Star recommends that this number be a maximum of .27 for our region, which means that it prevents a majority of solar heat from entering your house (a very good thing during hot summer months).

The Visible Transmittance or VT category measures how much visible light is let into the window, with a high number meaning a large amount of visible light is transmitted (that’s good!). Interestingly, only about half of sunlight is visible to our eye. When windows let in this visible light while blocking or redirecting the rest of the light, they prevent the heat from that light from entering your home.

The Air Leakage or AL category measures the air that a window allows into and out of your home through cracks. You want this number to be low, as the more tightly you home is thermally sealed, the more efficient and comfortable it is.

The last category on the NFRC label is Condensation Resistance or CR. A higher number on this category means the window is better at resisting condensation, helping to prevent water damage from that source.

Tomorrow, we’ll blog about some characteristics of high efficiency windows and what they mean for you as you’re making your selections. Hopefully you found this blog helpful and informative, and will remember to read the labels on a window when making your selections.