Energy Efficiency
Windows provide our homes with light, warmth and ventilation, but they can also negatively impact a home’s energy efficiency. You can reduce energy costs by installing energy – efficient windows in your home.
Heat Gain and Loss
Windows, doors, skylights can gain and lose heat through:
- Direct conduction through the glass or glazing, frame, and/or door
- The radiation of heat into a house (typically from the sun) and out of a house from room-temperature objects, such as people, furniture, and interior walls
- Air leakage through and around them.
These properties can be measured and rated according to the following energy performance characteristics:
- U-factor is the rate at which a window, door, or skylight conducts non-solar heat flow. It’s usually expressed in units of Btu/hr-ft2–oF. For windows, skylights, and glass doors, a U-factor may refer to just the glass or glazing alone. NFRC U-factor ratings, however, represent the entire window performance, including frame and spacer material. The lower the U-factor, the more energy-efficient the window, door, or skylight.
- Air leakage is the rate of air movement around a window, door, or skylight in the presence of a specific pressure difference across it. It’s expressed in units of cubic feet per minute per square foot of frame area (cfm/ft2). A product with a low air leakage rating is tighter than one with a high air leakage rating.