“Growing interest in improving the energy efficiency of residential buildings inevitably raises questions about what to do with existing windows. Homeowners often assume that replacing older, leaky windows is the only way to save energy, an assumption actively promulgated and reinforced by companies selling replacement windows and by the availability of federal tax incentives for installing new, high performance windows.”
“The confusion is often compounded by a lack of easily accessible information on the range of window improvement options available and the ability of these options to provide meaningful energy savings.”
“This study examines multiple window improvement options, comparing the relative energy, carbon, and cost savings of various choices across multiple climate regions. Results of this analysis demonstrate that a number of existing window retrofit strategies come very close to the energy performance of high-performance replacement windows at a fraction of the cost.”
“Saving Windows, Saving Money: Evaluating the Energy Performance of Window Retrofit and Replacement“, Preservation Green Lab, 2012. Via Old House Web.
