Can You Afford Not To Install Energy-saving Windows?

When it comes to wasting energy, it's a fact that most of the heat that disappears out of your home does so through the windows. Most cheap windows have poor seals that lead to drafts and heat loss. This leads to you turning up the heating to compensate which in turn leads to higher energy bills and, topically, you're not helping the environment either. Of course, fitting new energy-efficient windows is a great idea, but it's going to be pretty expensive, right? Well, not necessarily. There are government tax breaks to consider and the ultimate saving in your heating bills.

The US Federal Government certainly wants to encourage you to install energy-saving windows by offering you as a home owner a tax credit to cover 10 per cent of the windows' price up to a limit of $500 per year. So you can see that this is effectively a discount on the purchase price making energy-saving windows and doors much more affordable - and don't forget to factor in the reduced energy bills you'll enjoy too. This particular tax credit is called the Existing Home Tax Credit for Fenestration and covers windows installed from 31st December 2005 to 1st January 2008.

The organization that rates the energy-saving capabilities of windows is the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC). Their measures are the U-Factor which rates how well the window retains heat in your house - the lower this rating, the better - and the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient which shows how well your windows keep your house cool - again, the lower, the better. In order to qualify for the above tax credit you need to install energy-efficient products rated by this organization. They'll all display NFRC stickers which you'll need to keep along with your receipts as proof of purchase.

Here are some guidelines as to which energy-efficient windows and doors you should consider purchasing.

The majority of windows that have an energy-efficient insulating function will be double- or even triple-glazed. Between the glass panes will often be an inert, insulating gas like argon or krypton.

A lot of window manufacturers will also put a reflective coating on the glass to help it achieve lower U-Factor ratings. Another benefit of this treatment is that it will often help to filter out potentially harmful UV radiation. Not only is this UV radiation potentially damaging to you, it can also lead to fading the color of your furniture, so there's clearly a benefit if the product you're thinking of purchasing has a UV filter on it.

All good windows have a very tight seal that should be easily apparent when you try to open and close them when checking them out in the showroom. It's a good idea to give this a very good tryout. If you take the time to do a comparison across the cheap to very expensive windows on offer to you, you'll very quickly learn how to work out which have poor seals. Any poorly sealed window will be very energy inefficient, the very opposite of what you're looking for. It may be cheaper now but it'll surely cost you in the longrun.

So, although replacing those old, drafty windows may look to be an expensive proposition in the short-term, remember to factor in the government tax break of ten per cent and ten to twenty five per cent savings on energy costs, and they might not look quite so expensive after all.

Article Source: Free Content Articles Directory

If you're looking for some energy conservation tip advice then Graham Tasker, the Webmaster of Green Home Website at www.greenhome.no1-source.com has plenty that you'll find interesting and informative.

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