4 Benefits of Insulated Glass Windows for Your Home

1. Enhanced Energy Efficiency

The greatest appeal of insulated windows is their incredible ability to limit heat transfer between the inside of your home and the outdoors. Your home will stay warm longer in cold weather and stay cool longer in hot weather, allowing you to save energy by running your HVAC system less often. Insulated windows will often pay for themselves over time through monthly energy cost savings.

Insulated windows have a higher capacity for trapping and absorbing heat because they are constructed from multiple layers. The argon gas inside insulated windows acts as a barrier against heat until it reaches the same temperature as the outside air. The gas heats up very slowly, so your home will stay cool even after several hours of direct sunlight hitting your windows.

The insulating capacity of windows is measurable with a metric called the U-Factor rating. The U-Factor describes how much heat escapes from an insulated window over time. Today's double-pane insulated windows typically have U-Factor ratings between 0.30 and 0.60, where lower ratings are more energy-efficient.

2. Increased Home Value

Insulated windows are both an improvement for now and an investment for the future. When you are ready to sell your home, buyers will often be more interested if they don't have costly window repairs or upgrades. Installing insulated windows is also considerably more affordable than larger projects like room remodels, which translates into a higher ROI when you're ready to sell.

3. Reduced Outside Noise

Thin, rigid, and brittle materials like window glass are strong conductors of vibration. When you have problems with noise pollution in your home, your windows are often the first place to look. Insulated windows are as good at reducing noise as they are at absorbing heat. This means homeowners who live near train tracks, airports, or busy streets can benefit from insulated windows as well.

Some insulated windows specialized for noise reduction use panes of glass with different thicknesses to further dampen sound. Mixing thicknesses provides better sound reduction in every part of the audio spectrum. 

Furthermore, ensuring that each pane of glass has a different resonant frequency creates a noise-canceling effect through destructive interference. In other words, sound waves from different panes of glass will cancel each other out.

4. Improved Indoor Comfort

Maintaining a comfortable environment indoors is about more than setting the desired temperature. Your home's air will feel much more natural if a consistent temperature exists from room to room. Drafty, poorly insulated windows can make it impossible to keep certain rooms at the same temperature as the rest of your home. Insulating your windows eliminates the most egregious weak points in your home's temperature envelope. 

Air movement is another key aspect of indoor comfort. The body relies on air movement to evaporate sweat and help us keep cool. However, this means that even a slight draft can be enough to make a room feel colder than the setting on the thermostat. Insulated windows eliminate drafts and give your HVAC system complete control over circulating air in your home.

Insulated windows are a more versatile and rewarding home upgrade than many people expect. If you are interested in insulated windows or other glass fixtures for your home, call us at Palmetto Glass & Mirror for all your residential glass needs.