How Much and How Soon Do Energy Efficient Windows Save You Money?
Energy efficient replacement windows are a hot topic of conversation amongst both contractors and homeowners. The more energy efficient your windows are, claims every sales pitch, the more you’ll save on energy bills in your home. That’s true, but often Kansas City homeowners find themselves wondering how long it takes to notice a difference. There are several different factors that play into your home’s energy savings. While we can’t provide exact numbers, knowing what to realistically expect from your replacement windows will help you to anticipate your savings.
What Type of Energy Savings?
When people talk about energy efficient replacement windows, they’re usually referring to windows that will save you money on your heating and cooling bills. The goal of these windows is to seal and insulate your home so that you don’t have heat loss in the winter or stuffy rooms in the summer. When replacement windows are less than energy efficient, your heating and cooling units must work harder to keep the home comfortable, causing bills to rise. The tighter the seal of the window — and the longer it keeps that tight seal — the lower your energy bills.
However, energy efficient windows can also save you money on electric bills if they provide enough lighting into your home. On your window’s NFRC label, you can gauge the Visible Transmittance (VT), or how much sunlight filters through the windows into the home.
Consider Your Climate
Some replacement windows might be considered energy efficient in, say, Texas or California, but not during the harsh midwestern winters familiar to Kansas City residents. That’s why it’s important to make sure your windows are energy efficient in your climate. Fortunately, that’s where it helps to work with a locally owned replacement window contractor who’s familiar with the local climate. Find an energy efficient window designed for your home, and all the extremes of weather that Kansas City experiences.
What Time of Year?
The immediacy of your energy savings also depends on the time of year that you install your energy efficient replacement windows. For instance, if your windows are installed in mid-spring or early autumn, you may not notice a difference in your energy bills right away because your heating and cooling systems aren’t needed as urgently. However, if you install replacement windows in winter, you’re more likely to notice a difference in your energy bills right away.
Watch Out for Inflation
Energy efficient replacement windows certainly help, but there are some elements of your energy bills that are simply out of your control. It’s possible that this winter your energy bills might go up with or without energy efficient windows, simply as a result of inflation from year to year. If that’s the case, energy efficient windows will still help keep that inflation difference to a minimum, but you may not notice that you’re paying drastically less on your energy bills than you had the previous year.
Want to learn more about what you can expect from energy efficient replacement windows? Contact Johnson County Siding & Window Co. in Kansas City today for more information.
