Cooperative Living May 2020 - 34

EnergySense | by Pat Keegan and Brad Thiessen, Contributing Writers
Old wood
windows may
be worth sanding
and repainting,
and can sometimes
be retrofitted
with more
efficient glass.
Four Considerations
Before Replacing Windows
The chill you feel near your
windows when it's cold out is likely
due to radiant heat loss. When you're
near a cold surface, such as a window,
you can feel chilled even if the
temperature inside your home is over
70 degrees. Your body is much warmer
than the surface of the window, and
heat radiates from warm to cold. The
inside surface of an inefficient, singlepane
window will be much colder on
a winter night than that of a double- or
triple-pane window.
Window coverings are one unique
approach to increasing the comfort level
of your home. Curtains and blinds are
very effective at reducing radiant heat
loss in the winter and can even block
some unwanted heat gain in the
summer.
Another aspect to comfort is the sun.
If you have cold winters but lots of
32 | Cooperative Living | May 2020
winter sunshine, you might enjoy
the comfort and warmth of the sun
streaming through your windows on
a cold, clear day. If that's the case, you
should take this into consideration
as you ponder window replacement.
Some windows are better at letting the
sun's heat into the home than others.
Vinyl windows
are often the most
affordable replacement
and come in a wide
variety of styles.
Dear Pat and Brad: Our home's windows are very old, and when the weather is cold, we can feel
a chill when we stand near them. Do you think it's worth replacing them? - Grace
Dear Grace: First, prepare yourself for a bit of sticker shock when you get your first bid for replacing
windows. To help you decide if replacement is the right move, you'll want to consider a few factors.
INCREASED COMFORT
Windows can provide ventilation,
which sometimes improves comfort
more cost-effectively than air
conditioning. Windows also need to
be cleaned occasionally. If your existing
windows don't provide ventilation
or they are hard to clean, replacing
them could solve these problems.
APPEARANCE AND FUNCTION
Since your windows are older, new
wood- or vinyl-framed windows can act
as an exterior facelift. But keep in mind,
if you own an older home with classic
wooden windows, vinyl replacements
might look out of place. It's possible to
buy new windows that match the style
of some older wooden windows, or
you could decide to apply a little elbow
grease to get them back into shape.
Wooden windows, even if they were
built before 1960, can last the life of
the home.
RESALE VALUE
Windows are a major point of
interest for most prospective
homebuyers, which is why we often
hear that window replacement is good
for resale value. But a 2019 study by
the National Association of Realtors
found, on average, installing new
vinyl windows costs about $22,000
per home, across the U.S., but only
increases resale value by $16,500.
Only 4% of Realtors said the new
windows helped close the sale, so
if resale value is your main objective,
co-opliving.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE SCOLTOCK
PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVE ANDERSON

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Cooperative Living May 2020

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