New Window Nearly Triples Energy Efficiency - New Twin Cities Dealer Named

Preservation Window Company, a subsidiary of American Materials, Inc., has developed the most energy efficient window on the market today. The change in energy efficiency is not incremental, it is a huge leap. The documentation given is remarkable.

The main reason for the huge change is a break-through in glass technology. Preservation's EnergyMaxx 10 glass is the first of its kind in the marketplace. It combines the properties of the SST Spacer system, triple-pane glass, new Low E coating technology, and the use of krypton gas between the panes of glass.

In 2006 sixty million window units with metal spacer systems and argon gas were sold in the United States. Those windows were state-of-the-art at the time but two years later they will be rendered obsolete in terms of energy efficiency. In fact, the Energy Star Program has set new minimum standards for windows manufactured in 2015. None of the aforementioned sixty million window units would be a certified product at that point. Preservation Windows with EnergyMaxx 10 glass already meets the 2015 standard.

The Preservation brand is distributed by a group of dealers considered to be the elite among home improvement contractors around the United States. Today it was announced that Northland Home Exteriors from Forest Lake and Oakdale, Minnesota has become the "Dealer of Distinction" for the Twin Cities area. They are the 22nd such dealer in the country.

According to Doyle Land, owner of Northland Home Exteriors, "This window is not only exciting for us, it's exciting for the whole northern region of the country." He goes on to say "Preservation is the only window I know of that will absolutely guarantee a 33% decrease in the homeowner's fuel consumption. It's in writing and it's a money-back guarantee."

Northland Home Exteriors begins distribution Monday, January 10.

Having an energy efficiency improvement like this doesn't happen every day. It is a much larger jump than we've been used to.

Understanding Full Frame Replacement Windows

Many replacement window companies don't even evaluate whether or not your window replacement should be an insert or full frame type. After all, insert replacement is cheaper and easier to sell. The question is whether or not it's the best thing for the home.

Particularly in older homes the windows are usually wood. Even if they are clad they are more than likely caulked around the outside of the window unit. The cracks between the jamb and the house frame may be insulated but probably not.

What's happening when the caulk fails? Worse yet, what if it was never fully sealed. In twenty years of my experience I've never seen a home more than five years old that didn't have water damage around the windows - outside for sure, often inside the walls too. It's not always severe but it is there. If every homeowner could see what's behind the siding or inside the wall they'd choose full frame replacement every time. In my opinion it is needed every time.

Insert replacements leave the old window frame in the home. The rot, mold, and insects that are in there remain.

According to the most recent report from the Joint Center For Housing, 84% of all homeowners say their number one consideration is energy efficiency. Insert replacement doesn't insulate the open areas that have developed around the old window frame. That area can't be treated during the process of insert replacement.

The bottom line is that a real replacement window company will point this out and give you the choice. If they only try to sell the insert replacement what is their number one concern, your home or their commission?

Energy Efficiency Is #1 Issue For Consumers

Every year the Joint Center for Housing Survey comes out and every year it looks like last year's report. Surprise, not this year.

84% of the people surveyed chose energy efficiency as their first concern when considering new windows and siding. Not very long ago energy efficiency wasn't that big of a concern to most people, leaving me to ask "What changed"?

I have to believe that the awareness of the general public about the energy efficiency of windows is really what has changed. Concern for the environment and energy use can also be seen in the "green" movement".

The real test will happen when there is a choice to make. If the total replacement window package is $4,000 more for windows that are twice as energy efficient which window will be chosen? The ROI on double the energy efficiency more than pays the difference in cost in less than six years but how many people really think like that?

It will be interesting to see if energy efficiency and long-term thinking prevail over immediate cash outlay. Stay tuned!

What Is A "Green" Window

As we've become more and more aware of "building green" I wondered what that really meant for the window and glass industries. I needed to know what is universally set as the criteria for "green". We're actually asking how different windows score on tough environmental measures through all life-cycle stages, including raw material acquisition, manufacture, transportation, installation, use, and waste management using those criteria.

To me, all wood windows are immediately disqualified from any conversation about "Green". They use up precious natural resources, create waste, don't last long enough, and aren't energy efficient enough.

Is a man made material like vinyl considered "green"? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. I'll use Preservation Windows as an example. They don't use up natural resources, create zero waste, last lifetimes, and are way more energy efficient than most windows.

Before I really looked into it I thought Renewal by Andersen was the greenest window because of their use of sawdust and recycled materials. They were the first to receive the "Green Seal" award. What is their lifecycle? Who knows, but they only warranty their frames for ten years where many other vinyl window manufacturer's provide lifetime warranties. I wonder if that is a reflection of their confidence in mixing sawdust, recycled pop bottles, and vinyl together as a frame material?

Then I looked at their NFRC ratings on their website. Preservation Windows standard units are significantly more energy efficient than Renewal and it isn't even close.

My new impression of what "green" means certainly changes everything.

Glass Designed For Zone 5

Energy Star's proposed standards for upcoming years have added two more zones to the United States. The northern most zone is zone 5 which includes Minneapolis, St. Paul, Fargo, Green Bay, and many others. It is also the zone where u-factor is the most important rating you will see on the NFRC label.

What is the NFRC label? It is the label on every manufacturer's window that reports the independent test rating of five major components. Heat loss is the term most often tied to u-factor and that is really a function of the glass used in manufacturing the replacement window. Now you see why I say that u-factor is most important in zone 5.

When Energy Star published their proposed standards for upcoming years they made it clear that they want the Energy Star logo to mean something on windows. They are setting much higher and harder to achieve energy efficiency standards.

EnergyMaxx10 glass is the heart of what makes the Preservation Window the most energy efficient window on the market. EnergyMaxx10 has a number of key components that make it so energy efficient. It has the SST spacer system, krypton gas, two gas-filled chambers, and one inch of total glass space.

The SST spacer system is the heart of 'warm edge technology'. The specifications for the SST system clearly show why but here is the short list.

• Exclusive, patented tru warm edge.
• Patented double seal system.
• 54% more thermally efficient than windows made with conventional spacers.
• 950 times less conductive than aluminum spacers.
• 85 times less conductive than stainless steel spacers.
• Krypton gas has more than two and half times as much insulating value as argon.
• The chambers are larger than other glass types.

There are a few of the reasons for those of you in Zone 5 to go with Preservation Windows with EnergyMaxx10 glass.

Using Krypton In Window Glass

The use of krypton in high performance glass is becoming more and more popular. The question in most people's mind is whether or not it's worth it. The answer is yes, definitely.

Krypton and argon are both used in between the lites of glass in Low E and High Performance glass products. Both are inert gases that are not harmful to humans. Both have higher density than air.

Krypton is a better insulator because it's more than twice as dense as argon. Here is an easy analogy for you:

If you were looking at a swimming pool and it was empty, you could hop in and walk the full length of it quite easily. That's what air between the panes of glass is like. If the pool had water in it you would take longer and spend quite a bit more energy walking from one end to the other. That would be like argon. Now let's fill that pool with Jello, Jello symbolizing krypton gas.

I'm sure you get the drift. Krypton is a far better insulator than argon simply because of its density. Here is some more from Efficient Windows.Org if you're more of a technical person.

Vinyl Clad Wood vs. Insulated Vinyl Windows

The Efficient Windows Collaborative recently had an article that compared the various types of replacement windows. Their rankings of window types was very interesting, especially when they compared energy efficiency.

The only glass pack that rated above average was the triple pane, low e, insulated vinyl replacement window. The reason I bring this to your attention is simple. That rules out any of the windows manufactured by the "Big Three" window makers. Yes that includes Renewal By Andersen.

If you've read my stuff before you probably see that I have about four favorite windows and they are all vinyl. Preservation Windows stand out from the crowd though. When you start looking at replacement window products start with Preservation Windows and compare the features. You'll see what I mean!

Windows - Wood or Vinyl?

When someone asks me which type of window is better, wood or vinyl, I never hesitate to answer that vinyl makes a better window. It's almost like there is this little marketing war going on between the two types of window manufacturers. Most of what we hear is more urban myth than substance. I think it's simple to see that you can expect a vinyl window to last longer and be more energy efficient.

In the old days I used to think Andersen Windows were the standard because they were "the energy efficient window." If you don't already know, Andersen came out with vinyl clad windows and, at the time, they were the most innovative window on the market. The vinyl is PVC and it is like what the best vinyl windows are made of today. They used to be the prominent "vinyl clad" window in the whole world.

Now the same Andersen Windows are called wood windows. Funny, there hasn't been any structural change to the windows in 20 years. The Narroline windows are the same now as they were in 1975 except for the glass and other very minor changes. The only thing that's changed is perception. Vinyl clad was innovative back then so they were called vinyl clad windows. Now they are wood windows because natural wood is "in". Is it marketing or public perception?

My bias toward vinyl windows, especially replacement windows, is based on more scientific facts. For one, the good vinyl replacement windows have a Lifetime Warranty. Wood windows have a ten year warranty, at least the major ones like Andersen, Marvin, and Pella. Wood rots and that's just a fact. They can't possibly give a Lifetime Warranty or they would be out of business.

Vinyl is far more energy efficient than wood. The good vinyl windows have hollow chambers filled with foam insulation and offer a much higher r-factor than wood - even before the wood rots. The vinyl nowadays is uPVC (unplasticized polyvinyl chloride). Detractors often call them plastic windows because there is some kind of negative connotation about plastic. Note the "unplasticized" in uPVC. The virgin vinyl type will last a few human lifetimes without warping, cracking, or peeling. Vinyl never needs painting. Enough said about that.

I monitor one of the major window forums on the Internet and the most spirited argument I've ever seen was about warranties. One side argued that the lifetime warranty was better because it was forever. The other side countered that their windows, from the big three window makers, had a 10/20 warranty that was better than the lifetime warranty because they were still going to be in business to back the warranty. That was really interesting to me since the company that makes Preservation Windows has been in business for 68 years, has a solid reputation, and maintains solid earnings in tough economic times. They have a lifetime warranty that includes glass breakage and their u-factor rating was .19, twice as good as the big three. Nobody made that point and it didn't look like the type of argument I wanted to join. I was hearing banjo music in my head when I read some of the comments and it was very heated at times.

During that string of arguments someone mentioned Renewal By Andersen and their innovative material they call fibrex. Fibrex parts are only covered by a 10 year warranty. The material was developed in an effort to make the sawdust from Andersen's Bayport, Minnesota plant into something useful instead of burning thousands of tons of it every year. Fibrex is 40% reclaimed material. Since reground PVC has memory the polymers stretch and try to pull into their original form it's no wonder the warranty isn't longer. I'm not sold on fibrex until they prove that it's not the new "masonite". Do they seem confident with that 10 year warranty?

Preservation Windows has been named Energy Star Partner of the Year three times. They are more than twice as energy efficient as the big three and have a warranty that dwarfs theirs. Other good vinyl window makers with lifetime warranties include Simonton, Gorrell, and Milguard. My apology to any of the thousands of others who make really good vinyl windows. The two things the vinyl manufacturers have in common are energy efficiency and durability - none of them rot! And guess what, they don't expand and contract much either.

I think suffice is to say that vinyl windows, especially replacement windows, have too many important areas where their performance is far superior to wood. Please tell me what you think.

Kudos To The Energy Star Program

It is pretty clear that the Department of Energy is planning for a sound future as far as the window industry is concerned. If you haven't seen the proposed Energy Star Standards for windows in the years to come, it's worth a look. Energy Star is really going to mean something!

Right now it's hard to find a window that doesn't have the Energy Star sticker on it. In Zone 5, where I happen to live, there are windows on the market that are 2 and 3 times more energy efficient than other windows. The public should reasonably expect that one would have a higher ranking than the other. If you understand the NFRC label there is a huge difference. If you look for the Energy Star label it's virtually worthless.

U-factor, from the NFRC label is very meaningful to those of us in the north. It is the measure of heat transfer or loss. When temperatures can hit 30 degrees below zero it matters. You want to know what you're getting. If the average consumer looks at the Energy Star label on a window they believe it is an energy efficient window. Guess what? It might be better than what you have but it might not be that big of an upgrade in terms of energy efficiency.

Starting in 2009 the u-factor has to be .30 to .32 (the lower the better). There are already a few windows on the market with a u-factor rating of .16 to .20. In 2015 the standard lowers to .20 for a minimum.

The DOE is making the Energy Star label making mean something in the future. One of the windows on the market today offers a 33% fuel saving pledge. Their u-factor gets as low as .16 while Energy Star labels it the same as windows that are less than half as energy efficient. With the new Energy Star Standards maybe the general public won't need a 33% fuel savings pledge to see who really has an energy efficient window.

I know they had good intentions from the beginning. Separating the men from the boys will make the Energy Star logo mean something on windows. They are consciously making an effort to reduce the number of windows that meet their standards to less than 25% of the windows on the market. Kudos to the DOE.
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