Whether or not they save you money, triple-pane windows can make your home more comfortable
Randy George is well into plans for his super-insulated house in Vermont. Plans include high-performance windows, and while George’s contractor seems on board with most of the specs, he’s telling George the expensive windows won’t be worth their added cost.
George takes another look at this energy calculations and finds that dropping the R-value of his windows from 5 to 3 will only add about $200 a year to his heating bill. It makes him wonder whether his contractor is right after all.
George takes his situation to the GreenBuildingAdvisor Q&A forum, and the conversation is the topic of this week’s Q&A Spotlight.
There’s more to it than a simple payback calculation, George is told. If he’s financing construction through a loan, the miminal increase in his loan payment may be less than what he’d otherwise spend on heat. And triple-pane windows will make the house more comfortable in winter, something that’s hard to quantify but true nonetheless.
Not everyone, however, agrees.
Read the whole article at Green Building Advisor.
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View Comments
In July about 5 years ago I had Stanek Triple pane windows installed in my home. The center pane is a low e film not a pane of glass. The next month my electric bill went down $100.00 so is it worth it I live in Florida The Air comes on in late April and doesn't go off till late November. We also only have the heat 1 or 2 days a month between Jan & Feb.
Once the house is heated it stays warm so we turn it off.
I don't make that many good decisions, ask my wife ;^), but this was a good one. (Humor doesn't translate to text very well)
One thing you will notice on a day to day basis that is not mentioned is the Sound Deadening. The house is really quiet there is very little road noise, neighborhood kids playing,etc. However the Bass Notes for the car stereos can be heard as the shake the entire house. But it's still a lot better than it was before. Prior to installing the windows someone cut through my yard and jumped the fence to my neighbors house, the sound woke me up. With the windows installed now they could cut through, take a dip in the pool, fire up the barbeque, server dinner and I'd never hear them.
If I ever build a new house Triple Pane Windows are a must have
Lenny
If noise level is a concern, the triple pane glass is very good at attenuating unwanted noise!!!
Put in POLAR windows, special treated for each side of the house. Amazing how they cut down on road noise and they are saving some money on heating and cooling , drafts are all gone.
well worth the change.