How to choose B

How to choose Between Window Repair or Replacement and Gain the most Efficiency

With low wintertime temperatures the cold will creep in and pool at windows in need of repair or maintenance, plus drive up wintertime electricity bills. Just like any other part of a house, windows require maintenance and repair, and sometimes replacing, if the damage is too great. Windows are the most vulnerable point in a home for heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer.window repair 

How will you know if windows just need maintenance or require replacing?

The general rule of thumb to follow for window repair versus replacement is to repair windows with spotty damage and replace with damage throughout. Take the example of a fogged window. We would repair a fogged window that has lost it's seal.

What about newer super efficient windows - Why not just replace all of the windows at once?

It would seem like the best solution might be newer, more energy efficient windows. Advances in technology and the Low-E double pane type are much more efficient now, than they were years ago. But do they pay for themselves if replaced with more efficient models?

The short answer is no, you're better off repairing. Most homeowners only replace windows when there is no other option.

Window efficiency: plugging in the numbers for replacement

Let's take an example and be generous with the numbers favoring replacing windows.

Here we will replace older, double paned windows, to more efficient Low-E, double pane models. With this upgrade you'll get a 15% savings on your energy bill. On an energy bill of 4800 a year that's 720 dollars a year, for all the windows in your home. This is a modest amount if you break it down per window. For my house that would be 48 dollars each, per year. In this case newer, energy efficient, models won't drive the cost of changing out the windows for the entire home. However, energy efficiency could be one determining factor.