Would you willingly toss 30% of your energy dollars out the window? Not likely.
On the other hand, that's how much of a typical home's heating and cooling is
lost through its windows and doors.
To put that in perspective - the amount of energy lost through doors and
windows in the U.S. every year is roughly equivalent to all the energy we get
from the oil carried by the Alaska pipeline!
Modern Windows - Think of Them as High Tech Thermos® Bottles
 You might be surprised to know
that this concept was applied in
producing double pane windows
as early as 1935. The
technology re-mained relatively
unchanged through the mid
1980s, but in the last 20 years,
windows have become
dramatically more sophisticated,
using new materials with more
energy-efficient properties. Inert
gasses like argon, krypton and
xenon have been pumped
between the panes, adding to
the window's insulating
properties. Even more
spectacular are the
microscopically thin coatings that can be applied to the glass one molecule at a
time through nanotechnology. Some of today's double pane windows are actually
twice as energy saving double pane windows installed in the 1980s.
A window's thermal performance is rated with a U-value [link to definition on
Glass page], its overall ability to resist heat flow, and a Solar Heat Gain
Coefficient (SHGC) [link to definition on Glass page], a measure of the sun's
radiative heat that blocked by the glass and its coatings.
To put things in perspective, a very basic double pane window will have a U-
Value of about 0.49 and a SHGC = 0.75. Compare these to a high-end doublepane window which may have a U-value = 0.26, and a SHGC = 0.21. (Triple pane and windows built with Heat Mirror will be even lower.)
Understanding Energy-Efficient Windows - Fine Homebuildinq Magazine
ENERGY STAR Residential Windows & Doors
Efficient Windows Collaborative
PPG's Glass Education Center
Southwell Technologies: Heat Mirror Insulating Glass
CEC Consumer Energy Center
DOE Energy Savers Tips
NFRC Certified Window & Door Directory
LBL National Laboratory Home Energy Saver Audit
HUD Energy Efficient Rehab Advisor
Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency
DSIRE: Database of State Incentives for Renewable & Efficiency
IRS 25C Energy Tax Credit Bulletin
Department of Energy Weatherization Assistance Program
Maryland Licensed Contractors Database
DCRA Business License Verification Database
BBB of Greater Maryland- Check Out a Business Database
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