Tips On Choosing The Right Windows For Your Home

Tips On Choosing The Right Windows For Your Home

Before, homeowners were only restricted to whether they can find windows that will fit the design of their home. Now, people started to become aware and conscious of their surroundings. Environment-conscious consumers understand that the right windows are a source of lighting, heating, and cooling.

In summers, large windows allow the air inside the enclosed house. In the winters, the right windows, if closed, will stop all the cooling from coming into the house. Lastly, during both winters and summers, rightly chosen windows will affect the way light enters the house. If windows allow the sunshine inside the house, homeowners will not have to turn on the lights during the day, saving a big chunk of money on the electricity costs. Choosing a window can be tricky at first.

The following are some tips that will help you in choosing the right windows for your home:

  1. Energy Auditing the House

If you are installing windows in your new house or replacing windows, you need to undertake the energy audit of the house. The energy audit will effectively let you know how cost-effective new window units will be. You can also conduct a DIY energy audit keeping in mind the following things:

  • Major areas of your house,
  • What kind of windows would be suitable for your home?
  • Which kind of material would be better for your house?
  • and how seriously you would need  the windows in summers and winters

Then, you must buy the windows that would fulfill the energy needs of your house. You can also find a Windows Expert to help you.

  1. The frame of the Windows

Many materials can be used for framing the windows. The most common frame of the windows is wood. If wood material is used, the transfer of heat and cool inside the house is done very slowly. There are also different kinds of materials that can be used to make the windows energy-efficient.

Different kinds of materials will include vinyl framing material, wooden-clad material, aluminum framing material, composite material, fiberglass material, etc. Each frame material is detailed below:

  • Vinyl Material Windows

Vinyl framing material conducts the heat and cooling well, so they offer a practical choice. A properly installed vinyl frame with a glass window will look very good in your place. However, vinyl is a cheap material and color options are limited, which is why not most homeowners choose vinyl as their material of the window.

  • Aluminum Material Windows

Though aluminum is not an ideal frame when considering heat gain and loss, aluminum is the best choice if your house is located in humid, rainy and mild climates. It can withstand hurricanes and storms very effectively.

  • Composite Material Windows

Composite material windows are going to be made from the mixture of the wood scraps and plastic resins that will give a feel of the wooden windows, but they will be much more efficient than the wooden windows.

  • Fiberglass Material:

They are also composite material windows but made of glass fiber and polyester resin windows. Fiberglass windows are more expensive than other solutions.

  • Wooden-Clad Windows

Wooden-clad windows offer the best of all other materials solutions: they offer a very low-maintenance exterior (usually aluminum or vinyl) and a wooden interior consisting of the temperature-transfer resistant material.

You must choose a frame from these options that suit the energy requirement of your house.

  1. Window Casings

There are many different kinds of casings. Modern casings, low-profile cashing, high-profile cashing, traditional casing and complete casings are different types of casing. In each casing, the material is used either in a higher quantity or lower quantity which is why the differentiation is made. For example, the low-profile casing is less decorative than the high-profile casing. The traditional casing had been designed according to the traditional scheme of the design, while modern casings consist of ultramodern design.

You may choose a design for your window that you like. There are a lot of window contractors who offer different options for your window.

  1. Matching Window’s Theme to the Entire House

Your windows must not be constructed in a way that windows would look entirely different from the entire house. If the house is constructed and decorated around a modern or traditional theme, your windows must also follow the same theme and style. A little bit of variation is accepted, but the window should not be opposite to the entire house’s outlook. Good thing, there are a lot of window options available in the market today that you can choose from.

  1. Durability and Performance of the Windows

Different types of windows perform and age differently in different climate conditions. You must choose windows that best suit the weather in your city. Windows with a moisture-resistant material, high-temperature-resistant or SHGC (higher solar heat gain coefficient) windows may be inspected. If summer is a shorter season in your area, you must go for SHGC windows.

These are several tips you must keep in mind when you’re choosing the right window, whether you’re replacing your windows or choosing one for your new home.