How New Windows and Siding Can Lower Your Energy Bills

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that around 43 percent of residential energy bills go towards heating and cooling expenses. With nearly half your usage costs being spent on interior comfort, you’re probably looking for ways to boost your home’s insulative properties. Innovative home improvement products control heat transfer, reduce air seepage and force your interiors to better use the energy you devote to climate control, particularly heating. As you’re shopping for improvements, maybe it’s time to look for better windows and siding in Champaign.

The Low-Down on Energy-Smart Windows

Homes can lose up to 30 percent of their heating and cooling energy through air seepage. This often includes air leaks through walls, roofs, and around windows and siding in Champaign. However, it can also extend to inefficient windows that don’t sufficiently impede heat transfer through their glass. Two measurements you need to consider in gauging the degree of a window’s energy-smartness are the U-factor and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient, or SHGC. The former indicates how much heat escapes to the outside, while the latter measures how much incoming solar heat it blocks.

If you’re looking at that sweet tax credit for swapping out your windows, they need to have both a U-factor and an SHGC of 0.3 or lower. You can use these numbers as base guidelines and select windows with lower numbers to maximize your energy efficiency.

Improve Energy Usage With Upgraded Siding

Replacing your siding to increase energy efficiency can be somewhat trickier, but you can still accomplish great results with the right products. Common options include adding house wrap and rigid-foam insulation to up the ante on thermal performance, or choosing insulative vinyl siding that already has a layer of EPS foam insultation.

When it comes to this type of home improvement, you need to consider its R-value, an indicator of a material’s capacity to resist heat flow from one side to the other. The approach to R-value is pretty straightforward: the higher the number, the greater the insulation abilities. Keep in mind that this measurement is additive, which means if you combine materials with different R-values the total R-value increases. Depending on what type of siding and insulative options you choose, you can increase the total R-value of your walls by anywhere from an R-2 to an R-7 rating.

Significant improvements such as windows and siding in Champaign don’t just protect your home and upgrade its curb appeal. By hindering excessive heat loss and blocking air leaks, these new versions can help you take the chill off your interiors without spending more bank in monthly heating costs.

Kevin Smith is a writer and an avid reader. He writes about business, marketing, health, pets, or relationships etc.