Replacement Windows: Saving for Seniors

Home replacement windows offer superlative energy efficiency. Vinyl home replacement windows, fiberglass home replacement windows, and wood home replacement windows can all contribute to a more comfortable living environment. But can replacement windows save seniors money?

The answer may be yes. Senior citizens who live in older homes, with leaky, inefficient windows may be considering home replacement windows yet find themselves wary of making a commitment due to the relatively high price of replacement windows. Is it a wise decision for a senior citizen to replace their windows?

Consider the following:

Fuel Costs are Rising

When these words were being written, oil was hovering at over $90 a barrel. It hit the hundred dollar point earlier this month, and it’s a very real possibility that prices will rise to that point again. This has a huge and immediate impact on fuel oil prices — while many seniors live on fixed incomes. There’s simply no room in the budget for fuel prices that keep going up, up and up. This forces many seniors to choose between heat and food, heat and medicine, or heat and other life necessities.

Replacement Windows Help Conserve Heat

Energy experts tell us that as much as 40% of a home’s heating energy can escape through leaky windows and doors. That means that nearly half of the heat the furnace creates is wasted! The furnace has to run more often to make up for the loss, consuming more and more valuable fuel.

Replacement windows — vinyl, fiberglass or wood — help retain warmth indoors. Utilizing advances in window technology like triple pane glass, low E coatings, and insulating gas pockets, replacement windows can keep the indoors warm — and the furnace running far less often!

Replacement Window Health Benefits

Seniors often have a hard time maintaining their internal body temperature. This situation can worsen — dramatically, tragically so — with prolonged exposure to cold temperatures. Chilly breezes and drafts do nothing to help the situation. Replacement windows minimize air penetration, reducing the amount of cold drafts. The energy efficiency of home replacement windows allow seniors to stay in a warmer environment, making maintaining an acceptable internal body temperature easier.

It’s Not All Or Nothing

Although many homeowners opt to replace all of the windows in their home at once, to minimize the amount of time it takes to do the job, there’s no law that says it has to be done that way. Many times seniors don’t use all of their house, closing off seldom used rooms. There’s no reason to replace the windows in those rooms. Instead, focus on replacing the windows in the rooms you actually use: perhaps the bedroom, living room, kitchen and bath. This can be a substantial savings.

Discounts are Available

Finally, many manufacturers and replacement window specialists offer substantial discounts to senior citizens. These discounts may apply to the replacement window, as well as the cost of the labor to install the replacement window. Talk with replacement window specialists in your region to discover what your options are. When you factor in the discounts and the savings on your energy bill, replacement windows may be an affordable option!