glass package

I believe I've selected a great window for us. Not top of the line but still seems like a solid choice for our budget. I've decided on Sunrise upgraded to have the reinforcement I asked about before, half screens. My question is on the glass package.

Front of house (12 windows) gets full sun so I think the Ultra U+12 is the right choice for the front. The back of the house gets morning sun, but there is a large sunroom original to the house (crawlspace underneath, heated/cooled like the rest of the house). It has 12 windows, 6 @ 36x74 and 6 @ 32x74.

Should I do the upgraded glass on the back side of the house for $480 (24 remaining windows)? I was wondering if allowing more heat through the windows in the sunroom is actually a good thing given it seems to get too cold in the winter more often than it gets too hot in the summer. Conversely, would I make up $480 in heating/cooling costs if we did the remaining 24 windows with the U+12?

The quote is for the regular screens. If I upgrade to Optiview, it is another $270. If you had to choose between better screens or upgraded glass in the back of the house, which would you choose?

Is there a big tinting difference between the Ultra U+ and Ultra U+12? If not, I don't see a reason to spend the money on the more reflective glass for the garage (or even screens for that matter).

Many, many thanks!

It is nearly impossible to predict whether or not you would save that money with the Utra 12+ vs standard Ultra 12.

In most cases, folks put too low a SHGC glass in their homes because they are afraid of summer heat and don't realize that standard Low-e (i.e. 2 soft coat) will reduce the radiant heat by over 2 fold already.

I think you are on the right track.