Thanks JJARCHER! It's an excellent idea, and very useful to new window shoppers doing research on this website, for new windows purchasers to take the time to post actual results here, along with the information about the windows they purchased. Specs and manufacturer claims are important, but it's easy to get misled into paying more than you need to for windows which are overpriced or overkill...or putting the SAME money into the wrong features. Real world data, provided by actual buyers, is invaluable.
I am almost ready to order my windows and, as some small payback to the contributors of this site, will post the results of my own selection process. Maybe at some point there can be a compilation of such information for easier comparison geographically and with regards to specs, but in any case being able to find it here at all is an asset in the hands of smart shoppers!
Schuco Energy Savings
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usmarine0352
- Posts: 28
- Joined: Sat Mar 11, 2006 10:24 pm
Like some of the other guys said....it's not just money savings, it's also: quality of life with the new windows, ease of use, noise reduction, cleaning, beauty, less maintenance, resale, no rot and many other advantages.
One thing one no has asked is: do you smoke? If so, do you open your windows? Do you have kids that go in and out? Do you have pets you let in and out?
How is your roof insulation, your wall insulation. How are your doors? Air leakage at all thru those? And many other factors.
One thing one no has asked is: do you smoke? If so, do you open your windows? Do you have kids that go in and out? Do you have pets you let in and out?
How is your roof insulation, your wall insulation. How are your doors? Air leakage at all thru those? And many other factors.
You make a good point.
When I was looking at windows, all I heard about was energy savings, blah blah blah. Even saw a couple salesman with the charts and heard about how "these windows are free". For me, it was never really about energy savings.
It was about not having to put plastic over the windows during the winter. It was about not having screens that were so old and bent they wouldnt fit anymore. It was about no longer having to climb a 25' ladder to clean the outside of my 2nd floor windows. It was about being able to be within 5' of a window during the winter and not feeling a huge draft. Energy savings? Yeah it helped a little, but in the end that was the smallest part of the decision (and the salesman was nice enough to back off on the energy savings blah blah because he knew what I was trying to do).
Comfort is worth more than oil to me, no matter how much the cost (well, within reason
). Im sure we've all put so much heart, time and $$ into our houses that its senseless not to make ourselves comfortable inside of them.
-Chris
When I was looking at windows, all I heard about was energy savings, blah blah blah. Even saw a couple salesman with the charts and heard about how "these windows are free". For me, it was never really about energy savings.
It was about not having to put plastic over the windows during the winter. It was about not having screens that were so old and bent they wouldnt fit anymore. It was about no longer having to climb a 25' ladder to clean the outside of my 2nd floor windows. It was about being able to be within 5' of a window during the winter and not feeling a huge draft. Energy savings? Yeah it helped a little, but in the end that was the smallest part of the decision (and the salesman was nice enough to back off on the energy savings blah blah because he knew what I was trying to do).
Comfort is worth more than oil to me, no matter how much the cost (well, within reason
). Im sure we've all put so much heart, time and $$ into our houses that its senseless not to make ourselves comfortable inside of them.-Chris
I didn't get schuco nor have I recieved any gas bills yet, but I can tell you from the first day my new windows were installed there was a definante change in air temp and time between the furnace cycles. Even now when it drops to 50 at night I can leave the heat off and the house is still at 70 when I wake up which NEVER would happen before. Like they said theres a lot of factors that go into it but regardless I've noticed a huge difference and couldn't be happier with my new windows
Energy Efficiency Update - Simonton Impressions 7300
As promised, I am posting an update at the nearly one-year point since the installation of 12 Simonton Impressions 7300 windows and a sliding glass door last July/August. This information is nothing new to the window gurus who lurk the threads of this forum, but I hope it will be of value to prospective first-time window buyers who have had the sense to do their research before being locked into a contract.
Despite purchasing windows with Energy Star efficiencies of U-factor .30 or better, my 12-month energy bill actually went UP by 25% rather than going down. This was due to a number of factors having NOTHING to do with the windows themselves, but I include the information as further support for the importance of discounting utility savings as a primary reason to pay significantly more money for windows touting enhanced energy saving features. Had I followed through with the purchase of the triple-glazed Great Lakes windows I was originally sold with a high-pressure pitch I would almost assuredly have paid nearly $10,000 more with no prospect for the payback promised. The energy savings guarantee MIGHT have gleaned me a return of 5% of that difference (IF I could have gotten the installers to make good on their promised reimbursement) and I still would have been out $9500. Glad I didn't decide to go that route.
The double-glazed windows and sliding door I did have installed by a local contractor have, nonetheless, been a tremendous blessing to my wife and myself. Throughout a hotter-than-usual NW summer and a colder-than-usual winter we were able to easily maintain an acceptable comfort level with minimal fluctuation. Throughout the winter I could turn heaters entirely off overnight (6 hours) with a resultant drop in temperature of no more than 10 degrees. With the old Al-frame double-panes the temperature could easily drop twice that much! During the summer the ventilation afforded by windows which were (relatively) easy to open and close, with security blocks and intact screens, allowed us to cool our home in the evenings without the use of electric fans and AC's. My best guess at this point is that the new windows account for a drop of about 10-15% in overall energy use, all else being equal. That's a potential saving of up to $150 annually in our region.
Another benefit I originally underestimated in my search for new windows is their noise reduction value. With double-strength glass in all street-facing windows, neighborhood noise was drastically lessened. It still amazes me when I see cars drive silently by outside the front of our home. This never happened before our new windows were installed. Trains' whistles have also become quainter and less annoying now that their decibel levels inside the house have been reduced 50% or more. These are definitely selling points should we ever decide to part with our present home.
There HAVE been a few unforeseen detractors from our unmitigated enjoyment of the new windows. One problem was contractor-related. It seemed that once they had our order and our down payment we became a lower priority in their customer service agenda. Quite possibly due to their lackadaisical approach--resulting in a 60-day installation period from order to completion—we lost out on a planned $1000 energy savings rebate eligibility through our local PUD. The program ended during this time period. This was aggravating, but not the end of the world, given how much we’d saved on the windows compared to our original Great Lakes quotation. Still I wish I had specified a more acceptable time period—say 30 days—on the purchase contract.
Another problem was encountered when the installers realized our house was asbestos sided—a fact the salesman had apparently overlooked. In a couple places the siding had to be cut to accommodate the replacement so I opted to do this myself to ensure minimal infiltration of asbestos dust and particles into and around our home. I also did not wish to be responsible for any reduction in the young installers' life expectancies. A minor inconvenience in my case, but another detail a buyer would do well to attend to in the sales contract.
With regards to the windows themselves, they are very nice, but not perfect. Simonton allowed us to create a custom single-hung Oriel style with a larger pane on the bottom than on the top. This was wonderful, appearance-wise, but for some unexplained reason they did not see fit to include a finger grip on the bottom of the lower pane. There is only a grip at the top of these windows. This makes it difficult for my wife to close them, with the result that it is now my duty to make the rounds at night just to attend to this matter. Goofy stuff! The smaller, double-hung windows have a grip at both locations so I know it COULD have been included in the Oriels had I know to ask.
In conjunction with that problem is another annoying feature I didn’t notice when viewing the window samples--namely symmetrical window locks. Now one might think that symmetry is a good thing, but when it does not allow one to ascertain whether a window lever is in the locked or the open position it definitely SEEMS evil. Countless times my wife has, in the process of struggling to close a window, failed to properly secure the latches because she couldn’t tell whether they were locked or open. To make matters worse, different window types were manufactured so their latch levers point in different directions when locked. I have since remedied the problem by marking questionable latches with notations to make their orientations clear, but it sure seems this should have been done at the factory. Perhaps a simple request through the contractor would have sufficed. Let my loss be your gain.
I apologize for the wordiness of this post but it is my hope that perhaps there might be something here that helps a newby who is in the same bewildered place that I was a year ago. This forum was invaluable in providing me the knowledge I needed for making the best decision possible with regards to window replacements. Sharing my newfound experience is the best I can do to pay it forward.
Despite purchasing windows with Energy Star efficiencies of U-factor .30 or better, my 12-month energy bill actually went UP by 25% rather than going down. This was due to a number of factors having NOTHING to do with the windows themselves, but I include the information as further support for the importance of discounting utility savings as a primary reason to pay significantly more money for windows touting enhanced energy saving features. Had I followed through with the purchase of the triple-glazed Great Lakes windows I was originally sold with a high-pressure pitch I would almost assuredly have paid nearly $10,000 more with no prospect for the payback promised. The energy savings guarantee MIGHT have gleaned me a return of 5% of that difference (IF I could have gotten the installers to make good on their promised reimbursement) and I still would have been out $9500. Glad I didn't decide to go that route.
The double-glazed windows and sliding door I did have installed by a local contractor have, nonetheless, been a tremendous blessing to my wife and myself. Throughout a hotter-than-usual NW summer and a colder-than-usual winter we were able to easily maintain an acceptable comfort level with minimal fluctuation. Throughout the winter I could turn heaters entirely off overnight (6 hours) with a resultant drop in temperature of no more than 10 degrees. With the old Al-frame double-panes the temperature could easily drop twice that much! During the summer the ventilation afforded by windows which were (relatively) easy to open and close, with security blocks and intact screens, allowed us to cool our home in the evenings without the use of electric fans and AC's. My best guess at this point is that the new windows account for a drop of about 10-15% in overall energy use, all else being equal. That's a potential saving of up to $150 annually in our region.
Another benefit I originally underestimated in my search for new windows is their noise reduction value. With double-strength glass in all street-facing windows, neighborhood noise was drastically lessened. It still amazes me when I see cars drive silently by outside the front of our home. This never happened before our new windows were installed. Trains' whistles have also become quainter and less annoying now that their decibel levels inside the house have been reduced 50% or more. These are definitely selling points should we ever decide to part with our present home.
There HAVE been a few unforeseen detractors from our unmitigated enjoyment of the new windows. One problem was contractor-related. It seemed that once they had our order and our down payment we became a lower priority in their customer service agenda. Quite possibly due to their lackadaisical approach--resulting in a 60-day installation period from order to completion—we lost out on a planned $1000 energy savings rebate eligibility through our local PUD. The program ended during this time period. This was aggravating, but not the end of the world, given how much we’d saved on the windows compared to our original Great Lakes quotation. Still I wish I had specified a more acceptable time period—say 30 days—on the purchase contract.
Another problem was encountered when the installers realized our house was asbestos sided—a fact the salesman had apparently overlooked. In a couple places the siding had to be cut to accommodate the replacement so I opted to do this myself to ensure minimal infiltration of asbestos dust and particles into and around our home. I also did not wish to be responsible for any reduction in the young installers' life expectancies. A minor inconvenience in my case, but another detail a buyer would do well to attend to in the sales contract.
With regards to the windows themselves, they are very nice, but not perfect. Simonton allowed us to create a custom single-hung Oriel style with a larger pane on the bottom than on the top. This was wonderful, appearance-wise, but for some unexplained reason they did not see fit to include a finger grip on the bottom of the lower pane. There is only a grip at the top of these windows. This makes it difficult for my wife to close them, with the result that it is now my duty to make the rounds at night just to attend to this matter. Goofy stuff! The smaller, double-hung windows have a grip at both locations so I know it COULD have been included in the Oriels had I know to ask.
In conjunction with that problem is another annoying feature I didn’t notice when viewing the window samples--namely symmetrical window locks. Now one might think that symmetry is a good thing, but when it does not allow one to ascertain whether a window lever is in the locked or the open position it definitely SEEMS evil. Countless times my wife has, in the process of struggling to close a window, failed to properly secure the latches because she couldn’t tell whether they were locked or open. To make matters worse, different window types were manufactured so their latch levers point in different directions when locked. I have since remedied the problem by marking questionable latches with notations to make their orientations clear, but it sure seems this should have been done at the factory. Perhaps a simple request through the contractor would have sufficed. Let my loss be your gain.
I apologize for the wordiness of this post but it is my hope that perhaps there might be something here that helps a newby who is in the same bewildered place that I was a year ago. This forum was invaluable in providing me the knowledge I needed for making the best decision possible with regards to window replacements. Sharing my newfound experience is the best I can do to pay it forward.
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