Replacing old windows with high-performing residential window replacement, energy-efficient ones can save significant amounts of energy,” says Jeffrey F. Lowinski, vice president of technical services for the Window & Door Manufacturers Association (WDMA). In fact, he notes that reports published by the U.S. Department of Energy and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 2006 reveal that almost half of the homes in the U.S. still have single-pane windows; if all of those homes upgrade to Energy Star-certified residential window replacement, the energy savings would be approximately 20 million BTUs per house per year.
What does that mean for your home in particular? According to Nils Petermann, program manager for the Efficient Windows Collaborative, “Changing from drafty single-pane windows to Energy Star windows will save a lot of heating energy in a climate where winters are cold. Where summers are hot, Energy Star residential window replacement will also save significant electricity by keeping the house cooler through invisible low-E coatings on the glass.”
“When you reduce your heating and cooling needs, it will, in turn, reduce the time that your heating and cooling units run, and since most units run on a set temperature and when your home drops below or goes above the temperature that you have preset on your thermostat, it tells your heating or cooling system that it is time to run,” says Christopher Wood of WeatherTite Windows. “When you reduce the amount of energy loss in your home, you reduce the amount of times the temperature drops below your preset comfort level in your home.”
