When and Why To Consider Window Replacement

Posted: Aug 06, 2012
Author: G&S Contracting, Inc.

Does your house have an insulation problem? Having trouble keeping it warm or cool? Maybe the house is just looking a little drab, or you feel the need to one-up the Jones' down the street. Did the kids just put a baseball through the living room window? If any of the above is striking a chord with you, it just might be time to consider window replacement.

Windows can be one of the most important factors having to do with the insulation of a house. The amount of heat lost through a window is referred to as the “U-factor”, with a lower U-factor meaning less heat is lost, making low values desirable. The U-factor is related inversely to the more commonly heard R-value of an indoor space (though with the R-value, a higher value is the more desirable). The glass part of a window typically has the lowest U-factor of the entire window, and the window frame offers less insulation. When looking at window replacement, make sure the U-factor refers to the entire window you are considering, and not just the glass section.

Window replacement can also help with condensation problems. Condensation occurs when a window pane touches cool air on one side and warm, moist air on another. There are many strategies to combat annoying condensation, with double paning being the most popular. Some top-of-the-line window designs even offer double panes with gases (argon or krypton) between, which resist condensation and heat change better than atmospheric air.

Of course aesthetic reasons are also perfectly reasonable motives for window replacement. Staying ahead of the neighbors in the area of home fashion is not just superficially advantageous: a visually appealing home is more valuable than one less so. Windows play a key role in the look of a house, and window replacement can give your house the little pizzazz it needs. That baseball through the living room window can just as well be an opportunity to go ahead and start a little home-improvement project.