A Greener New Year with Home Replacement Windows

At last sighting, Santa was headed safely home to the North Pole, leaving tons of happy children in his wake — and plenty of parents saying, “Now how are we going to handle 2009?”

 Many homeowners are resolving to go green in 2009, combining environmental-aware building strategies with the need to save money in a tight economy.  Home replacement windows, particularly vinyl home replacement windows, can play a pivotal role in making your home greener — while helping you keep some green in your wallet!

It’s important to understand why home replacement windows, particularly vinyl home replacemetn windows, are a green choice.  At first glance, many would-be environmentalists shy away from vinyl windows, not realizing that the cutting edge manufacturing techniques employed by today’s leading vinyl window manufacturers, such as Alside, Champion, Harvey and more, actually use less energy, create less waste, and have less of an impact upon the environment than one might expect.  In fact, if you look for home replacement windows that have an Energy Star seal, you can actually make a positive impact upon the environment.

Sometimes we’re told that repairing or refurbishing old windows is preferable to installing home replacement windows.  However, many original construction windows used in new construction within the last decade or so were never well made, and all the repairing or refurbishing in the world won’t bring them up to the energy efficiency offered by todays home construction windows.

 If you have quality older windows, repair and refurbishment may be a viable option — but this really needs to be decided on a case by case basis.  Ideally, you want an insulated window, featuring double or even triple pane glass, installed in such a fashion as to minimize air and moisture penetration.  Insulating gas pockets featuring gasses such as argon and krypton can help keep cold air out and warm air in — which makes it far easier to control those home heating bills!

Replacement Windows and the Holidays

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Whether you’re hanging Christmas lights around every double hung window or carefully arranging a holiday village in a bay window, your replacement windows can help you welcome the holidays — not to mention enjoy them in comfort!

Vinyl replacement windows offer several features which come in particularly handy during the holiday season.  The tilt-in styling of many quality vinyl replacement windows does make cleaning easier — which is great, because you want to have sparkling windows when the family gathers for the holiday season!  But this tilt-in feature is also awesome if you’re decorating: it’s far, far easier to decorate when you’re standing securely inside your home than teetering on a ladder outside — particularly if you happen to be in a part of the world where ladder climbing is not a recommended December activity!

We’ve just come through one massive series of snow storms in this part of the world, and we’re gearing up for another: that’s when we’re really thankful for the energy efficiency vinyl replacement windows offer.  When that winter wind is howling, you want to know that your home replacement windows are durable enough to keep the sleet, snow, and freezing rain outside where it belongs.  The quality construction, insulated frames, triple pane glass, and insulating gas pockets of vinyl replacement windows stop air and moisture from entering the home: this means a warm, comfortable environment for you and your loved ones as you gather for Christmas.

Happy Holidays to all of our regular readers!  May you have a warm, safe, delightful holiday season!

Replacement Windows For Your Kitchen

The kitchen, now more than ever, is the new heart of the home.  Families gather there to prepare and share meals, children doing homework while Mom and Dad get dinner together.  On weekends, friends stop by to share morning coffee.

 The windows in your kitchen can set the entire tone of the room.  Selecting the right replacement windows for your kitchen means considering three criteria.  Every family is different, and every family uses their kitchen differently, which means there’s a unique replacement window solution for each family.

 Criteria #1: Functionality

You want your replacement windows in your kitchen to work!  It’s essential that you have replacement windows that open and close easily.  Too often, original construction windows are flimsy and don’t open easily –if at all!  That’s not great news — what happens when you burn dinner and want to air the room out?  What happens if your honey is happily frying fish and you can’t stand the smell?  Vinyl replacement windows open easily, allowing you to let fresh air in when you want it!

Don’t forget, having functional windows — replacement windows that open and shut easily! — is a safety issue.  More fires start in the kitchen than in any other room of the house.  If you ever need to exit your kitchen quickly and the doorways are blocked, it’s essential that your replacement windows open!

Criteria #2: Energy Efficiency

Energy costs are spiralling ever higher, making it more expensive than ever to heat and warm your home.  Leaky kitchen windows can let all that heat escape into the great outdoors, where it doesn’t do you any good.  Select replacement windows for your kitchen with an eye to energy efficiency.  Vinyl home replacement windows offer the most bang for the buck, with triple pane glass, insulating gas pockets, insulated frames, and low e-coatings.

Criteria #3: Style

 When we look good, we feel good — and when our homes look good, we feel good too!  Selecting replacement windows for your kitchen means selecting replacement windows that honor your personal style with the unique needs of the kitchen environment.  Frame a great view with a picture style window, or go old-school with classic colonial or country lines.  Vinyl replacement windows are available in a wide range of styles, with colors and finishes to enhance any decor.

Vinyl Replacement Windows: A Great Gift for Mom & Dad!

As you can imagine, we here at US Home Windows keep a pretty good eye on what’s going on on the internet about replacement windows.  A home replacement window specialist has to be in the know, after all!

 This morning, we stumbled across a blog article about replacement windows as a gift to the homeowner.  It was a great article, but it missed a great point: Vinyl replacement windows can be a fantastic gift to give someone you love.  Vinyl replacement windows are particularly valuable to our older loved ones — and when times are tight, you want to make sure that every gift you give truly improves the recipients’ lives.  This makes vinyl replacement windows the ideal gift! 

If you’re among that select group of people who have parents that are getting older, pay attention!  Finding gifts for Mom and Dad is tricky most of the time anyway.  This year, you may want to consider giving them vinyl replacement windows as a gift — a gift for them and a gift for you!

Your parents will appreciate the clean look of home replacement windows — particularly if they haven’t been able to do an upgrade in a while. The easy tilt-in feature makes cleaning a snap — and it means you don’t have to worry about Mom or Dad standing on a ladder, washing windows!  Same thing for maintenance: vinyl home replacement windows never need painting, so Dad doesn’t have to drag out the paint and brushes every spring.  That’s one less job he has to do — and more time he can spend enjoying himself.

 Finally, giving your parents vinyl replacement windows, such as the Alside Excalibur line, can be a financial gift.  The energy efficiency vinyl replacement windows offer, including the ability to keep warmed air in and cool air out, help control heating costs.  Additionally, because your parents will not be exposed to chilly breezes and drafts once vinyl replacement windows are installed, they’ll be healthier — which saves money and more importantly, gives  you more time to enjoy with them.  It’s a gift for everyone!