Replies

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay|Dec 23, 2015 10:55am|#1

   Greg,
   Q. "What would be the most bang for the buck?"

   A. I'm not sure exactly what you mean by your question. In general, though: unless your windows are in very bad shape, it's hard to justify the cost of window replacement. Your energy savings will never be high enough to justify the cost of new windows.

   In your climate zone, the most bang for the buck (if you want to improve your window performance) would come from adding storm windows with hard-coat low-e glazing.

   Here is a link to an article with more information:What Should I Do With My Old Windows?

2. 
   Greg Philliips|Dec 23, 2015 11:29am|#2

   Would a storm window be a single pane of glass mounted to the brick mould? Not familiar with hard coat low e glasing could you describe. Thanks

3. Expert Member
   Dana Dorsett|Dec 23, 2015 12:01pm|#3

   Indium tin oxide is a hard to scratch low-E material that gets deposited on one side of the glass in many low-E windows, not just low-E storms. Almost all low-E storm windows use that material. The infra-red reflectivity spectrum if indium tin oxide passes through most of the solar spectrum, but reflects in the deep infra-red. That makes it better at retaining heat than reflecting solar spectrum, (rejecting solar gain), which makes it more suitable for heating dominated climates than cooling dominated climates.

   The Larson low-E storms sold through box stores are pretty good if you go with the higher grade series for better air tightness.

   The tightest storms in the industry are from Harvey (a northeastern regional player), and they do offer a low-E hard coat glazing option.

   http://www.harveybp.com/upload/products/literature/Harvey_Storm_Products_Brochure.pdf

4. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay|Dec 23, 2015 12:05pm|#4

   Greg,
   Dana has described the low-e coating on the storm window glass.

   If you aren't sure the best way to mount these storm windows, just call up a contractor. It should be easy to find a storm window installer in your area who is willing to visit your house.