Opportunities for design improvements
Energy-efficient windows offer benefits under diverse design conditions. Window performance can be improved by taking orientation, window area and shading into account. Fine-tuning your window selection to the houses conditions and optimizing these conditions where possible helps further cut heating and cooling demand. Besides long-term energy savings, these upfront opportunities may be available:
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Smaller HVAC equipment: Lower heating and cooling demand means optimum equipment is smaller and costs less.
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ENERGY STAR Homes recognition: High-performance design can allow homes to be recognized by the ENERGY STAR program. Many States and localities offer design help and/or incentives for ENERGY STAR homes.
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Green building certification: Local and national green building programs recognize energy efficiency, including high-performance window design, as an important element of sustainable construction.
Efficient windows basics
Designing new homes can be a complex issue, but some straightforward principles and guidelines may help you set a solid foundation for window energy efficiency upon which you can further improve with careful design. Two of the most straightforward principles of selecting efficient windows are these:
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The windows must meet the locally applicable energy code requirements;
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Windows that are ENERGY STAR® qualified for the home’s climate ensure state-of-the-art energy performance even in locations with outdated or nonexistent energy codes.
Code-compliant windows, especially if ENERGY STAR qualified, offer benefits including energy cost savings, improved comfort, less condensation and fading, and the potential for HVAC downsizing.
Design considerations for window performance
The figure below shows several design conditions affecting window performance. You may not be able to control some conditions (e.g. the locations climate) while you may have the opportunity to optimize others (e.g. window placement and shading). Even if all conditions except the window type are fixed, it is still worth taking them into account. Window orientation and shading conditions, for instance, will help you determine the relevance of the windows solar heat gain coefficient based on their solar exposure during the summer and the winter.
As a Design+Build General Contractor, I offer my clients a one-stop shopping approach to all of their home remodeling projects. I work with my clients from initial conception of a project through its completion. Every aspect of the job is managed by me and my professional crew. You will be included in every step of the design process until the final drawings are completed. No detail is left to chance. General Contractor Specializing in Kitchen & Bathroom Design and Remodeling Throughout the Los Angeles area.
Written By:
Offer Steuer
President
OTM Designs & Remodeling, Inc.
For more information you may contact us via email at service@otm1designs.com or you may call us at 888-981-1415. Our website is www.otm1designs.com.