It may seem pretty strange for some people living in Pinole or the surrounding area that energy efficiency is still an important consideration, but it is. In fact, even though we live in one of the best places in the world, you will still be spending money on utility bills throughout the year to not only heat your home during the winter, but to also keep it cool during the summer.
We have put together a few reasons why energy efficiency still matters for replacement windows, along with other household items, despite the fact that there have been so many incredible advancements in technology in appliances, home construction, and more.
Winter nights can get cold.
Despite what you may be thinking right about now, winter nights can be quite cold. You may be snug and warm inside in your bed, but most people know that from time to time the temperature can get well below zero. Even without those low spikes in temperature, you’ll likely be turning on the heating system for comfort throughout most days and nights throughout a few months in winter.
Every single minute that your heating system is running is costing you money. The higher you keep your target temperature inside your home, the more you’re going to spend, and the more likely you’ll lose some of that heated air through old windows.
Don’t take things for granted just because you live in a decent climate; you still spend money to be comfortable in your home.
Any time the heating or cooling system runs.
As we mentioned, you are most likely going to be running your heating system for some periods of time during the winter. During the summer, you are also likely going to have an air conditioning system running, whether it is installed as a window unit or central air.
Whenever you are running the systems, it’s using electricity and potentially other fuels. Consider during the summer that the main reason why you have to run your air conditioning system is because the sunlight into your home and heats it up. That is the power of UV radiation.
Now, let’s talk about low E coating. Low E coating is a film that is added to windows as an option during manufacturing. This film coating will keep out a high percentage of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation that generates heat inside your home while allowing the natural light to illuminate your house. This keeps your home from heating up which will help you save money because you won’t have to run the air conditioning system nearly as often as a result.
Every lost degree of temperature is wasted money.
When you stop and think about it, you will realize that every time the temperature in your home drops during the winter or increases during the summer, it is going to cost you more money to get it back to that comfort zone. The hotter it is outside, the more your air conditioning system is going to have to run during summer. Conversely, the colder it is during the winter, the more you’re going to have to run the heating system just to stay comfortable.
If you are losing up to or even more than 40 percent of your home’s heat or cool air through old windows or doors, that can be a significant amount of money. Just take a look at your utility bills for this past year. Considering how much you spend, you could potentially divide that figure by nearly 40 percent.
So, for example, if your average utility bills were $150 throughout the year, you could almost save $60 every month, on average. If that seems high to you, it is reasonable, but we will lower that just to make a point. Assume that you can save $20 a month on your utility bills, on average throughout the year.
Multiply $20 per month by 12 months and you get $240 in savings every single year. That’s just from replacing your old windows and doors. Now, multiply that by 10 years in your savings jump to $2,400. When you consider that the average life expectancy of replacement windows is 15 to 20 years, you can almost double that figure.
On top of that, as electricity, home heating oil, and natural gas continue to increase in price, your savings over a long period of time will continue to increase. That means when you make the right investment in quality replacement windows and doors for your Pinole home in California, you will continue to save more and more money as a result.
Energy efficiency certainly matters when it comes to replacement windows as well as doors, regardless of where you live. To learn more about energy efficient options with regard to windows and doors, contact a-Taylor Made Windows today.
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