There are a lot of ways you can improve your home’s energy efficiency, but perhaps the easiest is with a window replacement. But how do you find the most energy efficient windows to use in the window replacement on your Huntington Beach, CA home? Energy Star and other organizations try to help you by offering different ratings and measurements that quantify a window’s energy efficiency. From U-values and solar heat gain coefficients, these measurements are important. But, one of the most important ones is R-value.
R-value is the resistance to heat flow through a window. Heat always moves from warmer to cooler areas because of the laws of physics. Therefore, when there is a large temperature difference between the outdoors and inside your home, your windows’ R-value is very important. If it’s a cold winter day in Huntington Beach, CA, the warm air inside your home will naturally escape through your windows. If it’s a super hot summer day, the outside heat will try and move through your windows into the air-conditioned indoors.
This phenomenon means that inefficient windows will allow more heat flow, making your heating and cooling systems work overtime to maintain your ideal indoor temperature. The harder your heaters and air conditioners work, the higher your energy usage and bills. When shopping for replacement windows, look for windows with a higher R-value. A window with an R-value of 5 is 50% more efficient than a window with an R-value of only 3.3.
A replacement window with a high R-value will definitely help reduce heat loss and gain in your home, making it easier to keep warm or cool. High R-value windows offer lots of other benefits for your home, including:
- Lowered energy usage
- Lowered heating and cooling energy costs
- More consistent temperatures all around the home
- Higher overall home resale value
While it may seem that energy efficiency only became popular or important in recent years thanks to media coverage, the global warming debate, and other popular culture, energy efficiency has been a part of the window replacement conversation for a long time. Rising costs of cooling and heating make having energy efficient windows for your home absolutely vital, as you need to not only keep your home comfortable, but also keep energy spending down, do your part for the environment, and keep your home value up.
When you’re shopping for windows for your Huntington Beach, CA window replacement, you should look for windows with a high R-value to keep your home valuable, comfortable and cost-efficient. If you want to learn more about R-value ratings and replacement windows, or have any other questions about window replacements in Huntington Beach, Cunningham Doors & Windows can help. You can stop by our showroom located at 1940 E Edinger Ave Santa Ana, CA 92705 to visit us in person, or give us a call at (714) 258-2500 for more information on window replacements and what we can do for you.