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!