5 Clues That Your Home Windows Aren't Energy Efficient Windows

December 29, 2009

If you have plans for taking advantage of Uncle Sam's 2010 tax credits for energy efficient windows, you'd better know the difference between those and your ordinary home windows. The difference could mean hundreds of dollars off of your tax bill next year. Here are five clues that your home windows might not qualify as energy efficient windows.

Making It Clear: Energy Efficient or Not?

The good news is that newer homes and those custom built may be in the clear. Those homes older than five or ten years might be lacking in the eco-friendly department. Take the following survey of your home windows to see if yours are truly energy efficient windows, or if a window replacement project is in your immediate future.

1. Your Home Window Have Only One Pane. Energy efficient windows have multiple window panes. Some even have three or more layers that provide impact resistance, increased insulation and enhanced sound resistance.
2. Your Home Windows Aren't Filled with Inert Gases. Energy efficient windows feature at least two panes of glass with compressed gasses inside--typically Argon or Krypton. The inert gases provide better insulation than plain air. They're also odorless, colorless, and non-toxic.
3. Your Home Windows Feature Cheap Frame Materials. Energy efficient windows boast durable, low-maintenance framing materials that assist in insulation and reduce heat transfer. Frame materials come in a wide variety of metal, nonmetal, and hybrid options that vary in price.
4. Your Home Windows Lack Warm Edge Spacers. Energy efficient windows use warm edge spacers to situate the panes of glass correctly. This action reduces heat transfer through the windows. Edge spacers also come in non-metallic and metal/nonmetal hybrids for your particular needs.
5. Your Home Windows Lack Low-E Glass. Energy efficient windows use low-emissivity (low-e) glass to repel ultraviolet and infrared light--heat stays inside during the winter months and outside during the summer months. Low-e glass models protect your interior by eliminating color-fading UV damage.

If any of the statements above are true about your windows, you don't have the energy efficient windows that the Feds are paying big bucks for. You should be thinking window replacement all the way. Your local home and garden center offers a wide range of Energy-Star-approved window models that can be installed by a professional contractor in just a few days.

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