Your Home's Windows: Reducing Heat Transfer

                                                                                         

One of the most important areas in your home where you can reduce the flow of your heating or cooling dollars is through your windows. If you are looking at buying a new home this is an area that is well worth taking a good hard look at so that you know just what kind of heating bills to expect come winter time.

The most obvious and least expensive way to decrease drafts around windows is to make sure they're well sealed. Seal any gaps around the frame with caulking or replace old weather stripping. When windows get older, sometimes they don't slide as smoothly as they did when new, a good cleaning of the tracks can help improve that which will allow them to close more completely. This is a good minimal step to take if you're selling your house, as you can be sure that prospective buyers will be checking out the condition of your windows.

If your windows are in particularly poor condition, consider replacing them with more energy efficient units. A combination of energy efficient frame and sealed unit can greatly improve the comfort of your home and reduce the heat transfer into or out of your home. If your window frames are in good shape but your sealed units have failed, consider just replacing them with new ones. Often a homeowner will notice that a sealed unit has failed because they can see condensation inside between the panes of glass. Replacing the unit will usually be rather less expensive than replacing the whole window.

However, if a full window replacement is required, there are many options that you can consider. Your window frames can be constructed from energy efficient materials and your windows hung in a variety of ways. Frames can be made from wood, aluminum, and vinyl with wood and vinyl being far more energy efficient than aluminum but more expensive as well. The less moving parts that a frame has will increase its efficiency as well because it has fewer places to leak heat through; a fixed-pane window is also cheaper than one that opens.

The sealed unit of glass in a window can vary in energy efficiency as well. The space between the glass can be as little as a quarter inch or as wide as 5/8 of an inch wide and be filled with air or an inert insulating gas like krypton or argon. You can choose to have low-e glass, heat-absorbing glass, or reflective glass used in your new windows to help cut down on heat transfer through your windows as well.

Replacing windows can be a very expensive endeavor but can pay for itself over time. Take stock of where replacements might be needed the most and tackle the project on a room by room basis as you can afford to replace them so that you can start reaping the comfort benefits now.

About the author:
As top Wilmington real estate agents, we can help you discover the excellent investment opportunities available in the Wilmington NC real estate market. Get expert advice and search the latest property listings at BuddyBlake.com.

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