Window Wednesday

 Is It Time to Replace Your Windows?

Author

Doug Anderson, ENERGY STAR Certified Products

Reasons to replace:

Any of these major problems could be a good reason to replace your windows.

• 

  Single-pane windows (windows with only one layer of glass).  These windows are big energy wasters due to them being poor performers at insulating against cold weather. They typically do not have coatings to block solar heat in the summer, which increases air- conditioning costs. 

 

 

• Windows with air leaks and drafts, or degraded sills and sashes. These windows also waste energy and are very uncomfortable to sit next to when it is cold and windy out. Degraded window frames or sashes can also leak water into your walls causing more problems and allow insects and other pests to enter your home.

 

 

• 

  Double-pane windows (two layers of glass) that are cloudy between glass panes or have moisture in them. Older, double-pane windows used old technology to seal the space between the glass. If those seals have failed, not only will you lose insulating power (loss of comfort), your glass may get cloudy, making it harder to see and impossible to clean, or moisture can get between the panes. 

 

 

• Windows that do not open or are painted shut. Windows that do not open prevent you from enjoying fresh air on a nice day, or a cool evening after a hot day, which can help reduce energy costs. Windows that do not open are also difficult to clean.

 

 

 

 

Other Considerations

• Improve your home’s look and value – Replacing your old, ugly windows with new, clean-looking ENERGY STAR windows can improve both the curb appeal and the value of your home.  Studies have shown that window replacement can add value to your home on resale – in addition to providing energy savings for many years.  Many new window frame types do not require painting which eliminates a time-consuming home maintenance hassle. 
• How many windows should you replace? - To get the best price per window, it helps to plan to replace at least 8-12 windows to reduce installation costs. Window installation costs are lower for the contractor if they come to your home for a larger project because of the time it takes to haul the windows to your home, set up the site, and clean up the site.
• Was your home built before 1978? – If so, the installer will likely have to take precautions due to possible lead paint. Following lead paint clean-up protocols is good for your home because they require the installer to catch any lead paint chips or dust that may fall during removal of the old windows, to clean up the site with extra care when the job is completed, and to dispose of the old windows correctly. The US EPA has excellent guidance on lead paint issues here
• Talk to neighbors or friends who have had their windows replaced recently. Ask around to find leads on good contractors who sell good window products, provide product performance details, do not use pressure sales tactics, communicate well, have a good warranty, and are clean and respectful during the installation. 

How can I be sure the new windows are energy efficient?

Choose ENERGY STAR certified windows to make sure your new windows are independently certified to be energy efficient.  ENERGY STAR’s efficiency experts have done extensive analysis to specify windows that are designed to be the most energy efficient and cost effective for the climate zone in which you live – Northern, North-Central, South-Central, or Southern regions of the U.S.  Find your ENERGY STAR climate zone using the Climate Zone Finder Tool.

• In colder Northern climates, the focus is on better insulation to save on heating costs.
• In hotter Southern climates, the focus is on blocking solar heat coming through the glass to save on air conditioning costs.
• In the middle of the country, performance is balanced between insulating power and solar heat blocking to save on both heating and cooling.

ENERGY STAR certified windows come in a wide variety of styles, colors, frame types, and operator types (ways of opening).  Check with your local supplier to see what brands they sell and then use the ENERGY STAR Product Finder to find the style and type that works for you.

https://www.energystar.gov/products/ask-the-experts/is-it-time-to-replace-your-windows

NT Windows & FlexScreen Make It Easy

 

NT Windows is proud to be the First FlexScreen Manufacturing Partner in Texas!

FlexScreen is revolutionizing the window screen industry with its durable, easy-to-use design. Resistant to tears, punctures, and stretching, this innovative material is virtually indestructible. Not only is it strong, but it's also visually appealing, enhancing the aesthetic of windows with its sleek, modern look and enhanced clarity.

FlexScreen's FLEXVIEW® CLEAN mesh features a water-repellent coating, keeping screens clean and clear even after rain showers. This technological advancement is being rolled out in vinyl and aluminum windows, promising a smoother transition and improved window performance.

Get ready to experience a new era of window screens with FlexScreen's innovation and simplicity.

For more information Call Roberson Air Conditioning at 979-532-5101 and visit NT Windows website https://ntwindow.com/flexscreen/

summarized via ChatGPT

Seasonal Allergy Relief

 How to Shield Your Body and Your Wallet From Seasonal Allergy Symptoms

Can’t catch a break from your seasonal allergy symptoms? You’re not alone. Each year, it feels as if the allergy season starts earlier, lasts longer, and impacts more than the nation’s chronic allergy and asthma sufferers. Turns out, this feeling is fact—and climate change is to blame.

The consistent rise in temperature year after year has led to longer pollen seasons and record pollen counts. In fact, a new study shows that our current pollen season starts 20 days earlier, lasts 10 days longer, and brings about 21% more pollen than in 1990! If our allergy seasons have evolved this much in the last 33 years, just imagine what the next 33 (or even fewer) years might bring about. While there isn’t much that can be done to turn back time or halt climate change’s progression, one thing still remains in our control: our homes.

Now more than ever, we rely on our homes to protect us—offering a safe haven from the outside world (be it viruses, weather events, or pollution). But with the outside world experiencing such rapid change, it’s hard not to question: Should we seek to adapt our homes in tandem to maximize our health and safety? The answer is ‘yes,’ and the solutions are simple.

Treating the Symptoms of Allergies, Not the Problem

Oftentimes, we default to treating our seasonal allergy symptoms alone in order to seek relief.

By using quick fixes, like medications, to treat symptoms, allergy sufferers only benefit from temporary relief, or risk prolonging their misery as side effects, like drowsiness or dizziness, start to set in.

Temporary relief isn’t sustainable for your body or your wallet. In fact, allergy sufferers spend up to $16,000 on treatments in their lifetime! With forecasted longer, stronger allergy seasons ahead, costly and temporary symptom relief just won’t cut it! It’s time we shift our focus and take key steps toward treating the problem, not the symptom, in the one place we can control: our safe havens.

 Where can you start? With Healthy Air, of course!

Treating the Problem: Key Steps to Reduce Seasonal Allergy Symptoms at Home

Poor and unhealthy Indoor Air Quality is often the biggest problem in your safe haven. From allergies and odors to mold and viruses, the air inside your home can threaten your family’s health and safety. But, by treating the problem with AprilAire whole-house Healthy Air solutions, your family can benefit from long-term seasonal allergy symptom relief and protection against the future of climate change.

With Healthy Air, you can:

• Create a safe indoor environment for the asthma and allergy sufferers in your life by clearing the air of seasonal allergens, like pollen, and everyday allergens, like dust or dander.
• Experience relief without worrying about unwanted side effects! Allergy sufferers aren’t the only ones who benefit here. Breathing Healthy Air not only helps safeguard your air from pollutants, but it has a positive impact on your sleeping habits, stress levels, and cognitive function.
• Increase the value of your home. Over time, your commitment to your home’s Indoor Air Quality and accompanying energy efficiency can positively impact the rate at which your home sells and even improve overall value.

It’s clear: Focusing your energy on treating the problem rather than the symptom is a much better investment than the quick fix allergy treatments that only offer temporary relief.

Ready for Healthy Air? Get AprilAire!

What key steps can you take today to reduce seasonal allergy symptoms and protect your family from the dangers of poor Indoor Air Quality? Discover our top Healthy Air solutions:

AprilAire Whole-House Fresh Air Ventilation

It may surprise you to hear that your indoor air is often five times more polluted than the air outside. With an AprilAire Whole-House Fresh Air Ventilation System, dilute airborne contaminants in your home as it exhales the bad air and inhales the good.

AprilAire Whole-House Air Purification

Designed to trap and eliminate common airborne pollutants, like pollen and dust, an AprilAire Whole-House Air Purifier protects every square inch of air inside your home while ensuring your current HVAC system operates efficiently for longer.

AprilAire MERV 16 Air Filters

Enjoy the gold standard in air filters! With AprilAire MERV 16 Air Filters, you can clear the air by capturing up to 99%* of allergy and asthma triggers living inside your safe haven.

It’s Always Healthy Air Season

With longer, stronger allergy seasons on the horizon, it’s no wonder our partners at the American Lung Association are calling climate change a true health emergency. After all, it’s become increasingly more difficult over the years to keep our air clean from pollutants as weather events, like wildfires and flooding, occur more frequently.

Luckily, in spite of all the changes happening outdoors, there are key steps you can take to protect your home, family, and wallet!

AprilAire whole-house Healthy Air solutions not only improve your Indoor Air Quality, but offer you the chance to experience these life-changing benefits:

• Better sleep
• Reduced illness
• Alleviate allergies
• Increased home value
• Better energy efficiency

Our world is changing—shouldn’t our homes change with it? When life won’t give you a breather, AprilAire can.

*Contaminants removed based on air passing through the filtering system.

Source: https://www.aprilaire.com/blog/how-to-shield-your-body-and-your-wallet-from-seasonal-allergy-symptoms/

Plan your 2023 Home Renovation Projects with ENERGY STAR®

 

The new year is still fresh, and like many Americans, you might be starting to plan for a 2023 home improvement project. Whether you’re looking to add some extra space, improve your home’s curb appeal, or save energy, the right project can have a huge impact on the comfort, value, and efficiency of your home – and incorporating ENERGY STAR certified products into your next project is a great way to meet your energy-saving goals. Before you dig in and start planning your projects for the new year, here are a few tips to consider:

 

1. Examine your home

A good first step before diving into any major renovation project is to walk your home and inventory the age of your appliances, heating and cooling equipment, and the condition of your home envelope. Although we use these components of our homes on a daily basis, many homeowners may not be aware of how old their systems and appliances are, or when they were last replaced. This information can be crucial when making decisions about which projects to plan, and understanding the condition of these systems can help you prioritize. For example, you may be looking to purchase a new energy efficient appliance, but after walking your home you find that your water heater is over 10 years old and nearing the time of breakdown. In this scenario, you could realize a greater ROI on efficiency and save yourself an emergency repair call if you were to upgrade to an efficient heat pump water heater as opposed to purchasing a brand new appliance.
 

2. Consider the impact of your project

Whether big or small, any home improvement project should be considered an investment. Choosing equipment and features that increase the efficiency of your home can come with a higher price tag, but the added cost will be paid back over time through energy bill savings. Making these kinds of investments can also increase comfort and safety, while helping you transition your home for the clean energy future. Start planning now for an ENERGY STAR Home Upgrade – a set of six high-impact energy efficiency projects designed to deliver significant energy savings. To help with the decision-making process more broadly, ENERGY STAR provides a range of expert advice on ways to optimize the energy-saving impacts of your home improvements.
 

3. Look for the ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency that has been around for over 30 years, and the little blue label can be found on 75 different types of products across hundreds of brands. Products that earn the ENERGY STAR label are independently certified to save energy and money while protecting the environment. In just one year, ENERGY STAR certified products helped consumers save 240 billion kWh of electricity, avoid $24 billion in energy costs, and achieve 180 million metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions!
 

4. Take advantage of rebates and tax credits

When thinking about ways to make a new appliance or home project more affordable, the first thing that comes to mind is likely looking for deals from retailers. However, there are other ways to save on upgrades - such as utility rebates and income tax credits which have been extended and increased through the Inflation Reduction Act. Several categories of products that are eligible for the ENERGY STAR label qualify for a federal tax credit, including products for the interior of a home, as well as improvements to a home’s envelope or exterior. Learn more about how you can apply these incentives to your next project. 

Source: https://www.energystar.gov/products/energy_star_home_upgrade

Indoor Air Quality

         

HVAC without the V spells: HAC. But you're no HAC... are you? We've all heard "build tight, ventilate right", but when it comes to implementation there are so many obstacles and challenges to overcome.

All too often outdoor air intakes are capped off - leaving homeowners trapped in an home more closely resembling a chemistry experiment than a carefree environment.

Call Roberson AC at 979-532-5101 for more info about your home's indoor air quality

Source: HAVEN Pro

Window Wednesday 🪟

If you're experiencing "sweaty" windows this winter, call Roberson AC at 979-532-5101 for more information.

Why Windows Do Not Cause Condensation

Under certain conditions, condensation occurs both inside and outside your home, but windows do not cause condensation. The source of condensation, or “sweating,” on windows and mirrors inside a home is humidity, or invisible water vapor, present in virtually all air. When this water vapor comes in contact with a surface, at a temperature below what is called the “dew point,” the vapor turns to visible droplets of liquid, or condenses, on the cooler surface. This often happens to bathroom mirrors and walls after someone has taken a hot shower. Condensation can also occur on windows during the winter if the inside humidity level is high enough. When it comes to condensation outside your home, it is simply a fact of nature. Exposed to certain conditions, like a clear night sky, still air or high relative humidity, the exterior surface of the glass can radiate heat away from your home and into the night air, allowing the glass temperature to fall below the dew point of the ambient air—creating condensation. Only when the glass temperature rises above the dew point will the condensation evaporate back into the air. Common examples of this are when dew forms on grass, car hoods and roofs and in common summertime conditions, with hot, humid air on the outside and colder, conditioned air on the inside. Condensation can form differently from window to window. Even windows that are located on the same wall of a home can experience different levels of condensation. This can happen due to varying humidity levels, elevation, landscaping near windows or different rates of exposure to the gradual warming effect of the sun.

Do Thermally Efficient Windows Prevent Condensation? 

There is no such thing as a condensation-free window. Even walls will “sweat” under conditions of high humidity. Remember that windows do not cause condensation: they simply prevent the moisture from escaping to the outside and serve as a highly visible surface where condensation can be easily noticed. If inside glass surfaces on double- or triple-glazed windows show excessive condensation, you can be reasonably sure that moisture is also collecting in your walls and ceilings. When outside condensation occurs, this does not mean your insulating glass unit is defective. In fact, it shows that the unit is doing its job—insulating the building from the environment.

Balancing Humidity for Comfort and Condensation 

Controlling the amount of moisture in the air, or humidity, is the most effective way to reduce condensation. The amount of moisture in the air is indicated by the “relative humidity” of the air. Relative humidity is the percentage of moisture in the air compared to the maximum amount it can hold. For instance, when it is raining or very foggy outside, the outdoor relative humidity would be 100%. Temperature also effects how much moisture air can hold. At 100% relative humidity, air at 60 degrees will hold three times as much water vapor as air at 30 degrees Fahrenheit. As temperatures drop during the winter, the air cannot hold as much moisture as before and condensation will occur unless the relative humidity level is lowered.

What Can I Do to Help with Condensation? 

Most everyday activities produce water vapor. A five-minute shower releases about ½ pint of water vapor, cooking dinner on a gas stove can produce 2½ pints of water vapor and the breathing and perspiration of a family of four can produce approximately ½ pint per hour.* Although it’s an uphill battle, there are a few things you can do to help control moisture levels in your home. • Use kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans. • If you have a humidifier, set it to correct outside temperature. • Properly vent clothes dryers, gas appliances, stoves, etc. • Make sure attic, basement and crawl spaces are well ventilated and free from obstructions. • Don’t store firewood inside; freshly cut wood can consist of up to 45% water, while well-seasoned firewood can have a 20-25% moisture content that can be released in your home.** • Open a window in the bathroom. • Open curtains and blinds to allow more air circulation around windows.

Source: https://www.norandex.com/resources/homeowners/window-resources/vinyl-window-condensation-information/

Best of Wharton County 2022

 THANK YOU for voting us Best Of Wharton County 2 years in a row!!! Check out all the winners in the Best Of magazine included in this week's paper.

Additional copies are available for pick up at:

- Wharton Journal-Spectator

- Wharton, Texas Chamber of Commerce

- Wharton Economic Development Corporation