Looking Ahead: Replacement Window Tax Benefits to Continue!

Homeowners who were kicking themselves, thinking that they’d missed out on the tax breaks associated with installing energy efficient home replacement windows before the year ended can take heart: the House of Representatives has passed a new version of an energy bill earlier this month that would extend those credits another year.

The news about the tax benefits associated with home replacement windows has been lost in all of the hullaballoo about new fuel economy standards for automobiles. However, the news is just as important! There may even be more people who benefit from the tax credit for installing Energy Star rated home replacement windows than those who will enjoy the positive aspects of new automotive fuel economy standards.

The bill enjoyed significant bipartisan support — rarer in Washington than an energy efficient single pane window! — and President George Bush signed it into law on December 19, 2007.

It’s clear that the government values the significant amount of energy savings that home replacement windows offer. It’s estimated that the provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which includes the pivotal replacement window and door credits, will save American consumers and businesses over $450 million! Energy consumption is projected to drop by nearly 10%, as well as green house gas emissions. That’s good news for everyone.

So if you thought you missed the window and lost your chance to enjoy a tax credit on your new replacement windows, take heart. The same credit will be available in 2008. To qualify, windows can be vinyl home replacement windows, fiberglass home replacement windows, or wood home replacement windows. They must be Energy Star rated, and installed before the end of calendar year 2008. There’s no guarantee that this legislation will be extended yet again, so don’t leave it to chance. It’s the time, right now, to start researching and shopping for your home replacement windows!

In fact, this might be the ideal time to install home replacement windows. Pressures on the economy and housing market have made conditions favorable for the consumer. If you’re considering upgrading with vinyl replacement windows, for example, you might be surprised with the favorable financing and attractive pricing packages that are coming onto the market. More and more homeowners who are considering selling their homes know that home replacement windows are an upgrade that help them realize higher prices for their homes — important in what looks to be an continually increasingly competitive marketplace. Add to that the now extended tax credits and all in all, it’s a great time to shop for home replacement windows!

Going Green A Top Resolution: Replacement Windows Make It Happen

Going Green A Top Resolution: Replacement Windows Make It Happen

It’s that time of year again, when well-intentioned people make promises: promises that they’ll lose weight, stop smoking, get out of debt — and increasingly, to go green. Making lifestyle changes and purchasing decisions to reduce one’s carbon footprint — the impact that one’s life has upon the planet — is being cited as one of the most popular resolutions people are making for 2008.

Home replacement windows can help make the resolution to go green a reality. If you really want to improve your overall home energy efficiency, vinyl home replacement windows, fiberglass home replacement windows, and wood home replacement windows can play a pivotal role in making it happen.

Going green has two components: using less energy, and making the most out of the energy you do consume. Let’s look at the latter first, and see how replacement windows can help you save the planet.

Consider the average American home, fitted with single pane windows. Even if these older windows are in good repair, they still lose a tremendous amount of heat energy. Through a combination of conduction and convection, as much as 40% of your home’s heat can escape through windows and doors to the great outdoors.

Installing thermal replacement windows — particularly those fitted with triple pane glass — cuts down dramatically on this heat loss. Because there are three panes of glass in triple pane windows, with insulating pockets of inert gas between them, the heat loss that can be attributed to conduction is reduced.

It’s also important to note that the superior construction of modern replacement windows, such as vinyl replacement windows, fiberglass replacement windows and wood replacement windows, reduces some of the hidden ways windows lose heat, namely air penetration. Faulty seals, loose glazing, and cracks and holes in the frame are all problems associated with older windows. New modern replacement windows have none of these issues. Superior construction methodologies virtually eliminate air penetration issues, making cold drafts yesterday’s problem.

Retaining all of this warmth inside your home makes it easier to maintain a comfortable interior temperature. This allows the heating system to run less. No matter how you heat your home, the less you run the system, the less fuel you use. This has obvious positive environmental effects. At the same time, the less the heating system runs, the less waste the system generates, resulting in less carbon monoxide and other emissions to be concerned about.

If you have resolved to go green in 2008, you have a number of choices in front of you. Going green can be accomplished with numerous small steps — or you can make some larger changes and start realizing a positive benefit right away. Installing home replacement windows will immediately reduce your home heating fuel consumption. This is a fairly unique phenomenon: many of the ways to reduce your carbon footprint are small changes that result in incremental reduction over the course of time. If you’re truly committed to living a greener life, you may want to consider having home replacement windows installed.

Thermal Windows: What You Need To Know

“Everyone tells me I’d be better off with thermal windows,” Anne said, peering at her living room window. “But I don’t know if that’s true or not. I don’t know what kind of windows I have now — so how do I know that installing replacement windows will really make anything better?”

Anne’s not alone in her question. Many homeowners are confused about thermal windows. They don’t know if they already have thermal windows or if they need thermal windows.

The truth is you may already have thermal replacement windows. There’s an easy way to check: look at your windows and see if there’s more than one sheet of glass separating you from the great outdoors. If you only have one pane of glass, you don’t have thermal windows. Thermal windows always, always, always feature double or triple panes of glass. Thermal windows are two to four times more efficient than older, single pane windows.

For example, Alside Windows feature ClimaTech — a unit that contains either two or three panes of glass in every window. One or both of those panes of glass will have a Low E coating, enhancing the window’s overall efficiency. ClimaTech windows also feature the SST warm edge spacer system, minimizing air penetration. Between the panes of glass, Alside ClimaTech windows contain either argon or krypton glasses — invisible gasses that help retain heat and conserve energy.

Saving energy is the main benefit of thermal windows. That’s why Anne has been advised to install thermal windows, and it’s the primary reason most homeowners seek thermal window replacement out.

Thermal replacement windows help save energy by keeping heated air in the home. Because a greater amount of warmed air is retained indoors — experts estimate that up to 40 percent of a home’s heat can escape through leaky windows and doors — the heating system needs to run less often to maintain a comfortable ambient indoor temperature. This results in less consumption of home heating oil, saving energy and money for the homeowner.

How much can be saved with thermal windows? This depends on a number of factors, including the cost of heating in your region, how often you heat your home, as well as how warm you keep the place! If you’ve made other improvements in your home’s overall energy efficiency, this can also affect the amount of savings realized. However, as a general rule of thumb, winter heating bills drop 20 to 30 percent after home replacement windows are installed.

It’s important to remember that not all thermal windows are created equally. There are many flimsy, inferior, older replacement windows installed in homes all across America — which feature double pane glass, yet due to inferior construction or installation, fail to provide optimum energy efficiency. In those cases, installing newer, better replacement thermal windows can remedy the situation. Modern window technology, including low E and other glass coatings, insulating gas chambers and rigid insulated frames, can also help increase a home’s overall energy efficiency.

Winter's Early Arrival Highlights the Value of Replacement Windows

Winter doesn’t officially start until Saturday, but you wouldn’t know that from looking around these parts. A pair of back to back powerhouse storms dumped a lot of snow all throughout the Northeast.

It’s not just snowy, it’s cold. Many homeowners are cranking up the heat in an effort to stay warm. That means heating bills are going up, up, up — especially as fuel prices continue to escalate.

There are three factors to any home heating bill. There’s the cost of the energy used to heat your home. There’s the temperature outside, determining how often and how much you’ll need to heat your home to stay comfortable. Then there’s the integrity of your home, determining how much cold air is coming in and how much warmed air is leaking out.

Obviously, the first two factors are outside of our control. None of us can influence either the cost of energy nor the weather. However, the energy efficiency of our homes is within our control, and that’s where home replacement windows come into play.

Vinyl home replacement windows, from manufacturers such as Alside, Harvey, Pella, and Champion, offer superior energy efficiency. Triple pane glass, low E coatings, insulated gas chambers, solid vinyl frames, superior construction and other features of superior home replacement windows help address the ways heat is lost from the home.
There are four ways that heat can be lost from the home: conduction, convection, radiation and air leakage.

Conduction is the movement of heat through a solid surface. For an example, look at a pan on your kitchen stove. That pan becomes hot because heat from the burner is conducted through the metal the pan is made of. The same holds true for glass — heat can move from one side of the glass (the interior of your home) to another (outside) Triple pane glass windows, by creating multiple surfaces and insulating gas pockets between the solid surfaces, reduce conduction tremendously.

Triple pane glass also helps reduce heat loss that occurs via convection: heat loss that occurs due to the movement of air.

Heat loss due to radiation can be dramatically reduced by the use of low E coatings. These thin, metallic coatings are applied to the directly to the window glass. They’re invisible, so you still get full enjoyment of your window — yet valuable heat energy is retained within the house. In the summer, low E coatings help cool air stay in while keeping the hot summer sun outside.

Air leakage is the last factor, and this is one factor where modern home replacement windows definitely excel over their earlier counterparts. Improved construction techniques, including seals, spacers, and frame materials, make today’s vinyl home replacement windows a superb choice to reduce air leakage. Older windows, especially single pane windows, are notorious for their air leakage rates — it’s possible to lose almost half of your home’s heat through old windows! Improve the situation with vinyl home replacement windows today!

Vinyl Window Maintenance: Painting

When you select vinyl home replacement windows, you have a wide range of color options to choose from for your exterior trim. Additionally, there’s a whole rainbow of interior finishes to choose from, from a unobtrusive modern looking white to sleek wood look effects.

One of the biggest advantages about vinyl home replacement windows is the easy maintenance associated with them. They wipe clean easily, and never need to be painted. Tilt-in features make it easy to wash windows, even in multi-story homes.

However, there are times when a homeowner might get the urge to redecorate and paint their house. Perhaps they’ve moved into a home that already features vinyl home replacement windows — not unlikely, especially in this competitive housing market, where buyers want every bell and whistle they can get for the money. After all, vinyl replacement windows enhance not only the look but the energy efficiency of the home. No wonder buyers want them!

The question remains: can you paint over your vinyl windows?

The answer is not as simple as you might think. Obviously, you can paint vinyl windows — just like you can do anything. You can juggle chainsaws, if you set your mind to it, or teach your large, scary Rottweiler to kiss you on the lips. However, just because you can do something doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good idea.

Without exception, replacement vinyl window manufacturers stand united when it comes to the painting of vinyl windows. They say: “Don’t Do It!” They mean it too — painting your vinyl windows will often immediately void your warranty. You don’t want to mess around with your warranty. It protects the several thousands of dollars you’ve invested in your home replacement windows.

Paint dealers and certain online websites will be happy to tell you that you can paint your vinyl windows — if you buy their special, very high priced paint. Save your money. There’s not a paint out there that has been proven to work well on vinyl windows. Part of the attraction of vinyl windows is that they don’t need to be painted. The color goes right through: if your window frames get scratched, nicked or otherwise damaged, the result will be less visible because you’re looking at an interior color that matches your exterior frame!

There are two main problems to consider when it comes to painting vinyl windows. Paint does not want to stick to vinyl: it slides off, which is not attractive. To counter this, specialty paint manufacturers reduce the amount of expanders in the paint, in an effort to make it adhere better. However, vinyl, like most materials, expands and contracts with temperature fluctuations. Paint that has been chemically altered this way can’t flex with the window frame, and invariably cracks and flakes off.

This is one time when it’s better to work with what you have rather than attempt to force your vinyl window frames into a ‘new look’ that just doesn’t fit.

Finding A Replacement Window Specialist: Five Things To Look For

Shopping for home replacement windows is a large undertaking. You’re going to invest a lot of time and money into having your windows replaced. It doesn’t matter if you’re opting for vinyl home replacement windows, fiberglass home replacement windows, or wood home replacement windows — there is one essential element. You need a replacement window specialist you can trust!

Why is trust important? Trusting your replacement window specialist is important for a lot of reasons: you’re making a major purchase. How happy you’re going to be with that purchase is totally dependent on the relationship you have with your replacement window specialist. You want someone you can trust to provide you with high quality windows, that are right for your home and the environment it’s situated in, and help you have them installed properly. You can have the best replacement windows in the world, but if they’re not installed properly, you won’t realize the full benefits of replacement windows.

Here are Five Things To Look For When Selecting A Replacement Window Specialist:

You went to them — they didn’t come to you!

The best window replacement companies aren’t the ones who engage in high pressure telemarketing campaigns or flyer half a community. They may — and should! — advertise, but they’re not calling you out of the blue to talk windows. That type of sales approach is typical of fly by night companies who do a bad job!

Well-established in the community

Longevity counts. Consider your potential window replacement specialist’s reputation in the community. How long have they been around? What jobs have they done? Can they give you references?

A demonstrated expertise in window replacement

You want to do business with people who know what they’re talking about. The more your window replacement specialist knows about the products and processes of window installation, the better job they’ll be able to do for you!

Friendly attitude and commitment to customer service

You want a replacement window specialist you can work with. This person should be friendly and approachable — and so should the people who install the windows! You need to be able to trust the people you’re letting into your house to do the replacement work.

Put it in writing

Honorable companies stick to their word — and the smart ones put it in writing. Contracts, price quotes, and guarantees should all be written down. You want a company that’s willing to document what they do — and what they say they’re going to do. If a company balks at this, ditch them. They’re not the company for you.

There are other criteria to consider, of course. If you have your heart set on fiberglass replacement windows, you don’t need to go to a dealer who only handles wood replacement windows. You want to deal with a company that’s geographically convenient to you, and within your price range. Never be afraid to ask questions. The more you know, the better decision you’re going to make!

Replacement Windows and Pest Control

“Look at this!” Marcus Haynes held up his hand, letting a thin stream of sawdust trickle between his fingers to the ground below. “Termites. Every bit of it.” The side of Hayne’s home looks fine at a distance, but as you close in, you can see the devastation the small insects have wreaked.

“Termites are really fascinating creatures,” Haynes told us. “They live in colonies — a few hundred to a few thousand bugs, all of them as hungry as can be. In Africa, they build towering columns as nests.” He chuckled. “There, they build. Here, they tear down.”

Termites are the most destructive insect American homeowners have to deal with, but they’re not the only creepy crawly that causes problems. Carpenter ants can cause a lot of damage to the home. Both critters feast on wood, and have been known to burrow through lead, metal shields, plaster, and other seemingly impenetrable surfaces to reach the wood.

Which brings us to the question of windows. Wooden windowsills, wooden window framing, and wooden sashes and grilles all present a delicious temptation to termites — a temptation they’re not capable of ignoring. Driven by an insatiable hunger, termites eat and eat and eat. This obviously damages the integrity of your windows.

Windows with damaged frames leak air like nobody’s business. Think of that expensive heating and cooling energy just pouring out into your yard, escaping through a million termite-created cracks and gaps. It’s infuriating!

It gets worse. Where warm air can get out, cool air can get in. You’ve got drafts and chilly breezes making your family uncomfortable. If you have small children playing on or near the floor, you’re creating an environment where it’s hard for them to stay healthy.

Loose windows can also serve as a vulnerable point criminals can use to force intrusion into your home. That’s a security risk, plain and simple.

Considering replacement windows is an obvious choice, especially when done in conjunction with aggressive termite management. What frame material works best for replacement windows when pest control is an issue?

Let’s be realistic here for a minute. No matter how well you attempt to control the situation, the little critters are notoriously difficult to eliminate. They’re determined, they’re numerous, and they’re voracious.

One of the most effective ways to counter termites is to reduce their food supply. In other words, don’t give them anything to eat, and they’ll go away. (Just like those annoying relatives during the holiday season!)

This eliminates wood replacement windows as a viable choice. Wood replacement windows are beautiful, they’re elegant, they offer superior energy efficiency and style — but they’re also delicious — at least if you’re a termite!

On the other hand, vinyl home replacement windows and fiberglass home replacement windows aren’t as attractive to termites. Solid vinyl windows –rather than vinyl-clad wood windows — is the best choice for this application. Homeowners have reported good luck with fiberglass replacement windows as well. Don’t overlook doorways! Vinyl replacement doors are a good way to tell the termites “There’s nothing for you here!”

Vinyl Bay Windows

Vinyl bay windows are one of the most popular choices for homeowners who want to upgrade their existing windows, take advantage of multiple views, bring a spacious, airy feel to their living space, and alter the façade of their home.

Bay windows — which are also called bow windows in some parts of the country — are what are known as compound windows. Consisting of three or more windows, bay windows project outward from a room. The size of each window can vary: the most common form is two smaller, narrower windows flanking a large center unit. Often, when people refer to bow windows, they’re referring to four or more equally sized window units protruding from the side of the house.

Vinyl bay windows offer the homeowners several benefits. Traditionally, bay windows were a prime area to lose heat energy: flimsy or poorly insulated window framing let the heat just pour out into the great outdoors. Rigid frame vinyl windows offer superior insulation, retaining valuable heat energy. Triple pane glass is the best choice to help keep the living area warm. The best vinyl replacement window manufacturers offer triple pane glass windows in every style, including bow and bay windows.

Vinyl bay windows can dramatically change the look of a room. By installing a vinyl bay window in a small, narrow room, a homeowner can create a more open, airy feel. This gives the appearance of spaciousness without having to undergo expensive remodeling or new construction. Installing vinyl bay windows is a very cost effective way to re-do a room without having to rebuild the house!

Additionally, vinyl bay windows allow homeowners to take in more of the view. If you live in a particularly scenic area, say an oceanfront home or wooded glen, why not look at it at every opportunity? You’ve paid a lot of money for that setting: there’s no sense closing yourself off from it with undersized, inadequate windows. Vinyl bay windows can give you wide, panoramic vistas of joy to look upon.

Vinyl bay windows can serve as a focal point to a room, offering decorates a wide range of options to work with. Expanded window space allows for decorative arrangements of plants or family treasures. Another popular option is to build window seats surrounded by vinyl bay windows: a great cozy nook to curl up with a book on a summer afternoon. Is there anything more wonderful than snuggling with a loved one and telling family stories while the snow falls outside, and you’re safely inside, in a warm environment created in part by your vinyl home replacement windows?

If you’re considering converting a flat window or wall space to incorporate a vinyl bay window, you’ll want to work closely with your home replacement window specialist. Installing vinyl bay windows is clearly not a do-it-yourself job. Professional assistance will help you achieve the proper installation necessary for the maximum enjoyment from your vinyl bay window.

Time is Running Out: Act Now For Tax Savings!

We don’t want to freak you out, but time is running out, right now, as you’re reading this blog. As of this writing, there are 26 days before the end of the year, and if you’re going to qualify for the tax break that comes with installing replacement windows, you need to act now!

Energy Star Windows are a great way to improve your home’s energy efficiency. Vinyl home replacement windows, fiberglass home replacement windows and wood home replacement windows all offer superlative levels of improvement over single pane windows and original construction windows. This means that the home owner can save energy, keeping warm air in and cold air out.

Replacement doors are also a great way to save energy. French doors, patio doors, and sliding glass doors can all be replaced with more energy efficient replacement models.

Experts estimate that as much as 40% of a home’s energy can be lost through leaky, inefficient windows. Imagine you had a dollar. Would you only want to be able to spend 60 cents of that dollar? While more than a third was inaccessible to you — and not benefiting anyone else, either? That’s exactly what you’re doing by having leaky, inefficient windows in your home: sending 40% of your heating bill willy nilly into the wild, where it does no one any good.

If you replace the older, inefficient windows in your home with vinyl replacement windows featuring triple pane glass, insulating gas pockets, and low E coatings, you’ll realize many benefits. The first of the benefits replacement windows offer is enhanced comfort: minimizing or eliminating cold drafts makes for a nicer living environment for everyone, particularly children and the elderly.

The next benefit replacement windows offer — and this is also true for fiberglass replacement windows and wood replacement windows, as well as vinyl replacement windows — is the substantial savings homeowners will enjoy on their heating and cooling bills. When warmed air is retained inside during the winter, rather than leaking outdoors, the homeowner is more comfortable. There’s no need to continually turn up the thermostat or to have the heating system run and run and run, consuming ever increasing amounts of expensive home heating oil.

Finally, replacement windows enhance the beauty of the home. Available in a wide array of styles and finishes, vinyl replacement windows, fiberglass replacement windows, and wood replacement windows all offer homeowners the opportunity to dramatically change the appearance of their home. Often, older style replacement windows were not of particularly high quality: flimsy aluminum frames, shoddy construction, and low quality hardware did not add to a home’s attractiveness. Replacing these windows with a high quality home replacement window is an easy way to make your home look better.

These are all clear benefits. Coupled with the tax credits available to homeowners who install Energy Star rated windows in their home, there’s really no reason to hold off on making this upgrade. Act now to get your home replacement windows installed, and enjoy a tax credit!

Mold and Mildew: What Is The Best Replacement Window Choice?

The scenario is surprisingly common: a large family, a small house, multiple showers every single day. Moist interior air, from the showers, the washer, the dishwasher, and the staggering amount of cleaning that happens every day contributes to what can be a potentially devastating problem: mold and mildew growth on the walls.
Walls aren’t the only place mildew and mold grow. Some homeowners have reported mold growth on interior window frames — growth that can’t be addressed with bleach, cleaning, or even refinishing the frame.
What can be done? Replacement vinyl windows may be the answer. Unlike wood replacement windows, which offer a potential host site for mold and mildew growth, vinyl replacement windows resist mold.

Continual exposure to moisture can cause wood windows to rot. This is not a problem with vinyl replacement windows, such as Alside’s solid vinyl windows. Solid vinyl windows do not rot.

Often, moisture is often most problematic in two rooms: the bathroom and the kitchen. These are the rooms where the most water is used. Laundry rooms are also sometimes plagued with this issue.

Vinyl replacement windows are available in a variety of styles, many of which will work in bathroom, kitchen, and laundry or utility room applications. Double hung windows, casement windows, and awning windows are often used in these areas. Some homeowners have successfully used vinyl bay windows and vinyl bow windows in kitchens and baths, as well.

Maintaining vinyl windows in a high moisture environment is easy. Regularly wiping down the window frames will keep them clean. Mold spores can’t gain a foothold on the vinyl surface.

Controlling mold growth is essential for family health. Mold and mildew are very common allergy triggers. Toxic mold can even cause fatal reactions: not a chance any homeowner wants to take. A year doesn’t go by without news stories detailing the tragic demise of people who had black mold growing in their home — always a needless death. This can be avoided.

Mold needs three things to grow: oxygen, moisture, and a food source. Obviously, you can’t eliminate oxygen from your living environment. Moisture control is problematic: dehumidifiers and adequate venting can be helpful, but it is difficult to perfect moisture control in a residential setting. However, homeowners can affect the amount of food the mold has available to it. Replacing wood window frames with vinyl replacement windows eliminates the organic material mold uses as a food source.

It’s also important to consider the role of replacement window installation in moisture control and mold elimination. There are two options when it comes to replacement windows: the stock replacement windows available in home improvement stores, and the custom-sized windows available from manufacturers like Alside. Custom vinyl replacement windows fit better, eliminating penetration points for both air and moisture. Achieving the same result with stock windows often requires extensive and expensive retrofitting and carpentry. This may make custom vinyl replacement windows the more cost effective ways to improve your home.