Given Yuma’s intense summer heat, even minor upgrades to your windows help improve energy efficiency around your home. Considering windows can account for up to 30 percent of your home’s solar heat gain, these features are well worth optimizing for efficiency.
Keep Your Cool
Leaks around your windows let hot outdoor air slip into your home, increasing the load on your air conditioner. To pinpoint the leaks, wait for a breezy day and hold a lit incense stick up to your windows, moving it slowly along the edges. An air leak will cause the smoke to move.
Leaks around the window frames can be sealed with latex-acrylic or another all-purpose caulk. Leaks around the windows’ moving parts should be blocked with weatherstripping. For casement, vertical pivot, and tilt-turn windows, self-adhesive foam is the simplest and most budget-friendly option. Sliding and double-hung windows require other types, such as V-strip (tension seal) weatherstripping.
Air leaks can occur in many parts of your home and even small ones, taken all together, waste a measurable amount of energy. To make sure your home is as leak-free as possible and further improve energy efficiency, schedule a professional blower door test or full home energy audit.
Hold Back the Heat
Just hanging reflective blinds and closing them on sunny days can cut your heat gain by up to 45 percent. Neutral-colored drapes with a reflective backing are almost as effective. Shades, which should be mounted close to the glass, also reduce the amount of heat that radiates in.
For your sunniest windows, consider high-reflectivity window films. These films are applied directly to the window glass, allowing their mirror-like surface to bounce heat away from the house. They work especially well for east- and west-facing windows.
If your windows are old, consider upgrading to Energy Star-qualified models. Upgrading could save you up to 17 percent on your energy bills compared to standard double-pane windows.
For more information on how to improve energy efficiency in your home, contact Hansberger Refrigeration & Electric Company to learn more about our efficiency boosting services.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Yuma, Arizona about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about energy efficiency and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Amy Walters/Shutterstock”
