Are you considering ways to make your home greener? There are a lot of options from large projects like installing solar panels, to smaller projects like getting a smart thermostat or changing lightbulbs. Families throughout Massachusetts have continually looked for ways to improve their environmental impact. Not only does having a greener home help the Earth, but it also helps your wallet. Lowering the energy or water you use will also decrease your overall utility costs. One project that comes up often is replacing windows with eco-friendly versions.
What Is An Eco-Friendly Window?
When it comes to heating or cooling your home, windows, and doors are the only place that often raises the energy required to maintain a favorable temperature. And it makes sense, your walls and ceilings probably have insulation in them, whereas windows and doors do not. Whenever you turn on the heater or the A/C in your home, a lot of that energy is lost because it goes through your window. An eco-friendly window is any window designed for energy efficiency. For the glass part, this involves a dual-paned approach. A dual-paned window has two layers of glass with a layer of air between them. This is because heat conducts through solid materials better than water or air. You can experience this at a beach; after only a few hours of sunlight the sand is blistering hot but the water and air can still be cool. A dual-paned system uses an air layer as a buffer to keep heated air or cooled air from escaping your house. An eco-friendly window also uses materials for the frame that are known to have lower transference of heat. Vinyl, composite, and wood have lower transference than other materials. So an eco-friendly window uses two panes of glass and a construction material that will increase energy efficiency.
Should You Install New Windows?
Whether you install new windows or when you install new windows can depend on a variety of factors. Some homes choose to reinstall all of their windows at once, while others do them one at a time. The biggest effect on your electrical bill is whether or not your windows close fully or if there is an air gap. Window repair, readjustments, and weather stripping can also go a long way in making your home environmentally friendly, and they are less expensive projects.
Contact Merrimack Valley Glass & Mirror For More Information
At Merrimack Valley Glass & Mirror, we help a variety of homes, businesses, and public buildings with window installation services as well as window repair. If you have an issue with your windows or are considering installing new windows, we would be happy to provide a quote. The most important thing about a window installation is that the window can be fully closed with little to no airgaps. A dual-pane eco-friendly window will not be as useful if it isn’t correctly installed. For more information or a free quote please contact us.