Who doesn’t love a room with multiple windows allowing for natural light, the sun’s warmth, and of course ventilation? While windows can enhance the ambiance of your home, if not properly installed or of the right quality, those windows can be wreaking havoc on both your energy efficiency and your utility bills come winter. Though it’s never too early to install energy efficient windows, here are a few tell-tale signs that it’s time to upgrade your home’s windows to help reduce the stress on the environment and your pocketbook!
1. You feel a breeze. Yes, windows are designed to allow for air flow and ventilation to travel through your home to allow for a more comfortable indoor environment—but not when they are CLOSED! If you can hold your hand six inches from the pane and feel or hear a draft an unwanted cold air in the winter months, chances are the panes and surround seal are not up to par. You may notice yourself adding extra logs to the fire or increasing the temperature to heat the house without a huge change in the overall room temperature. You are losing the heat and will continue in that constant battle of energy loss until the window have been re-sealed or replaced to help better serve your needs. The same way they will keep you warm in the winter, the energy efficient windows will keep you cool in the summer keeping the sunlight in but the excessive heat out!
2. You see water damage. Have you noticed dried water stains around the frame of your window, on the ledge or wall? Are you looking for a faulty toilet upstairs or an unexplained leak in the roof? It may be the windows and their lack again of proper glass, construction, and installation. Like the unwanted air, rain, snow, and condensation have a way or making their way into old windows and can ruin more than aesthetics. Water damage leads to rot, mould, and more. If you start to see moisture droplets or the unmistakable brownish stain of water, it’s time for an upgrade!
3. You are noticing loose caulking or paint cracking. Now it could be age, the initial craftsmanship, sloppy caulking, or too many coats of paint piling up, but if you start to see the paint cracking or caulking peeling away, you may have issues again with the window and seal. Exposure to extreme temperature of hot or cold can cause drying, along with moisture that gets in and again dries repetitively can cause unnecessary wear and tear on your window structure.
4. You are preparing your home for re-sale. If you are thinking of putting your home on the market, one thing potential buyers are looking for is high-efficiency and how they can save money both on the cost of the home and in the long run with upgrades. Most home inspectors are quick to start with the exterior or the home, followed by the exterior walls to insure proper insulation and protection from the outside world. Increase the value of your home and the likeness of a sale with the installation of high-efficiency windows and doors.
5. They have become an eye sore. You have added granite to the kitchen, redid the powder room, added hardwood floors, but your old windows remain untouched and rather ugly. To complete the makeover of your home, trying changing the windows and doors to reflect a more modern look while saving energy and money in the long haul.
Clera Windows makes replacing your windows as easy one, two, three. Allowing you to choose your style, glass, and colours to match you individual home and unique taste. Call us today! 1-888-738-0738
