Tips for Saving Big When Buying Replacement Windows

By

replacement windows

Photo courtesy of Flickr’s Bob Jagendorf

Buying new windows for your home can bring a slew of benefits. From increasing energy efficiency to making your home look better, replacement windows can be just the change you need. That being said, replacement windows, particularly if you’re looking to replace every window in your home, can be costly. With these three simple tips for shaving down the costs when buying your replacement windows, however, you can improve your home, without having to dig too deeply into your savings.

How to Cut Costs When Replacing Your Windows

Go with Energy Efficient Windows – While it’s true that many energy efficient windows are more expensive than their regular counterparts, Energy.gov recommends you always go the energy efficient route if you can. Why? The amount of money you’ll save on your energy bills over time will more than make up for the premium you pay for greener options.

Only Do It Yourself if You’re an Expert –It goes without saying that installing your own replacement windows can save you money — so long, of course, you know what you’re doing. Even then, it’s probably in your best interest to call in an expert to help. The reason is simple: the best contractors have insurance, so if something goes wrong — they drop and break a window or someone is injured — it’s them who will be paying for it, not you. The financial benefits here are clear.

You Need to at Least Bring in a Consultant – As MSN Real Estate details, one of the biggest mistakes homeowners make when looking to buy new windows is replacing windows that really just need to be repaired. Bringing in a consultant, you can ensure that it’s not just the molding around your windows that needs to be fixed up. The difference between molding repair and replacement windows can be many hundreds of dollars. Bringing in a consultant to make an assessment can help you avoid this unnecessary cost.

Tired of the Constant Noise? Find New Windows to Soundproof Your Home

By

New Windows

Photo courtesy of Flickr’s Ryan Weisberger

Especially iIf you live within one of Western New York’s most populated cities, like Rochester and Buffalo, noise pollution can be a daily hassle. The constant hustle and bustle of city traffic, the noise of people coming back from a long night at the bar: whatever is the cause of the cacophony, it can make your time spent at home less relaxing, not to mention the impact it can have on your ability to sleep.

To many city-dwellers, in WNY and beyond, noise is just something you have to deal with when you live in an exciting cosmopolitan area. However, when you realize that noise pollution leads to hearing loss, increased blood pressure, and a slew of other life-shortening conditions, it ceases to be just a fact of life, and it turns into something you need to deal with.

By Choosing New Windows, You Can Reduce Noise

Too many people assume that soundproofing their home is about buying expensive tiles for their walls and acoustic dampening materials for their ceilings. In reality, one of the simplest and most effective things you can do to reduce the noise is to find replacement windows that work to dampen sound. Of course, you have to know what to look for.

  • Pay Close Attention to the Frame – One of the most important things when trying to keep sound out is making sure you don’t give it any space to move through open air and into your home. Old frames or frames on mass-produced windows are known to let in a lot of air and, most importantly, sound. If your windows have frames that form a tight seal, one of the hallmarks of energy efficient windows, they will be better able to tone things down in your home. Especially if the new windows you’re considering have vinyl, not metal, frames, you’ll be able to cut out a lot of the racket.
  • Multi-pane is the Way to Go – Just as you’ll want to choose energy efficient windows for the sake of a more reliable frame and seal, so, too, should you be looking at energy efficient windows for their glass. To make a long story short, the more panes in your windows, the greater ability they will have to absorb and block sound. The reason is simple enough: between each layer of glass is a pocket of gas,  usually made up of argon or krypton. These gases will trap and reflect sound, meaning your home will be that much quieter. The more panes, the more layers of sound-cancelling gas.

Soundproofing your home can mean protecting your health. By choosing  new windows that can cancel out all that excess noise — and help you save on your energy bills in the process — you can avoid many of the issues that come with living in the vibrant cities of Western New York.

Home Technology of the Future: Bird Friendly New Windows

By

Bird Friendly New Windows

Photo courtesy of Flickr’s Jack W. Pierce

For many homeowners, making the decision to buy replacement windows isn’t just about cutting their energy bills and improving the look of their homes. In fact, one of the main reasons energy efficient windows, like our Energy Xtreme series, are so popular is because they give each homeowner the chance to make a difference and a very real shot at protecting nature. Using less energy directly translates to less environmental impact, after all.   All factors to take into consideration when purchasing new windows.

Taking Eco-Friendly to the Next Level

According to recent scientific research, hundreds of millions of birds are killed every year in North America when they fly into windows. Unlike humans, birds cannot see the distinction between a pane of glass and empty space. Subsequently, they think nothing of trying to fly through our windows, a daredevil move that usually ends with a broken wing, or worse.

Thinking to get ahead of the problem, Arnold Glas, a European window technology company, invented Ornilux. New windows using this Ornilux technology appear completely normal to the human eye. As far as we’re concerned, any window featuring this bird deterrent is just another option for energy efficient windows. However, for birds, creatures with the ability to see in the ultraviolet light spectrum, Ornilux windows look like a patchwork of lines, closely resembling a net. The effect? Birds stay away.

Bird Safe, Budget Friendly New Windows

There’s no doubt that for the conservationist and eco-focused homeowner the technology created by Ornilux is a fantastic new way to keep making a difference when buying new windows. However, what if you feel that saving a few birds isn’t quite worth the cost of robin-repelling options?

Well, consider this: every time a bird strikes your windows, there is a considerable chance that they are going to leave a noticeable crack, especially if they’re a bigger breed — just ask the countless number of homeowners who’ve woken up to an unexpected draft, only to find the body of the culpable bird laying just beneath the window outside. If that happens too many times, you’re bound to notice the repair bills stacking up.  In other words, bird-repellent windows will change the game for the animal lover and the financially savvy homeowner alike — assuming, of course, they ever find their way across the pond from the United Kingdom.

Beat the Costs of the Summer by Installing Replacement Windows

By Leave a Comment

replacement windows

Photo courtesy of Flickr’s Sarah Reid

On average, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, American homeowners spend $395 each summer on their air conditioning bills. When the sun is beating down through your windows and the humidity is at 90%, the last thing you want to do is bake in your home. Having said that, too many Americans think that the huge annual A/C price-tag is just a fact of life. However, we’re hear to tell you that you can have all the comfort of an air conditioned home without the huge costs.

Replace Your Windows in the Spring

By having replacement windows installed in your home before the summer comes, you can cut a huge chunk out of your seasonal and annual energy bills. Quite simply, American homes with old or damaged windows waste from 10 to 25% of their heating and cooling bills every year.

If you notice that no matter how much heat you pump into your home in the winter it stays cold, chances are your windows are leaking. Likewise, how many scorching summers have to go by with your costly A/C being jettisoned out into the sun before you realize it’s time for new windows? The spring is often considered to be the best time to have your new windows installed; after all, it’s neither too warm nor too cold for your window company to come and do their work. Plus, you can start reaping the benefits of a full set of energy efficient windows before the summer starts.

Benefits Beyond the Summer

As every Western New Yorker knows, the summer ends far too quickly around these parts. In the blink of an eye, we go from the oppressive heat of Buffalo in July to the ceaseless snows of November. Not only can seeking out replacement windows help you to better weather the physical and financial challenges of the summer, but updating your windows means better protecting yourself for many years to come. Consider, depending on the type of window you choose, the return-on-investment can be as high as 78.7% for the life of your windows.

The summer is coming fast, bringing with it a stack of high energy bills. If reducing your costs, not only for the summer but for many years, is as simple as replacing your 20-year-old windows with the energy efficiency of Energy Xtreme, why wouldn’t you take that leap?

An Energy Star Partner

Habitat for Humanity

We’re Trustworthy

Read Our Reviews

We Support the NFRC