With today's high-performance window technology, you can have a proven solution to resist the sun's heat in the summer, and welcome it in the winter! There are energy-efficient windows on the market that are engineered to accommodate almost any budget, while providing the highest levels of year-round comfort and energy savings, making them well suited for virtually any climate. These high-performance windows are ?Green' because they use technology that helps lower your energy use. Lowering your energy use reduces air pollution, such as CO2, that is emitted from power plants, thereby making a greener environment for everyone.
Green Frame Materials
PVC (vinyl) frame materials can be considered ?green' because they are recyclable and have a sustainable lifespan, keeping them out of landfills. Today's vinyl production is now sodium-based, not petroleum-based. PVC production does not require burning or generate harmful gases. Once they are installed in your home, vinyl windows are environmentally friendly due to their maintenance-free composition; they never require painting, sanding or refinishing.
Look for vinyl windows that are custom-made to fit the exact openings in your home, and ones that employ fusion-welded construction. Fusion welding prevents air leakage, water infiltration, and energy loss that are common with other frame materials on the market that are mechanically (screwed) or chemically (glued) fastened. Fusion welding also provides the best structural integrity.
Green Glass Solutions
When replacing windows, look for double pane or triple pane windows. Just upgrading your single pane windows to double pane can improve the R-value, or insulating value by 200%. But, the greatest thermal improvement comes with the addition of low-emissivity coatings, insulating gases, and warm-edge technology.
Low-emissivity coatings (Low-E) act like a filter. In summer, Low-E glass allows ample visible light to pass through while blocking infrared and ultraviolet radiant solar energy. The result? Rooms stay cooler in the summer. In the winter months, the glass helps to keep rooms warmer by reflecting heat back into the home. Adding Low-E glass to your double pane windows improves the R-value by 300% over single pane glass.
Air trapped between two or three panes of glass acts as an insulator. But for improved energy saving performance, the addition of Argon or Krypton gas to the air space provides greater insulating values. Argon and Krypton are non-toxic, odorless and colorless gases that create a thermal barrier between your home's interior and the fluctuating conditions outside. Dual pane windows with Low-E glass and Argon gas provide four times the insulating value of single pane glass. For the ultimate in energy saving performance, triple pane glass with Low-E and Krypton gas provides nine times the insulating performance of inefficient single pane glass.
Also, look for windows that utilize warm-edge technology. Warm-edge spacer systems seal the insulating glass units and flex with the glass in hot or cold temperatures to help prevent seal failures. These insulating spacer systems also keep the edges of the glass warmer, dramatically reducing condensation while keep warm air in and cold air out.
