One thing that is seemingly forgotten about when it comes to renovating your home is your windows. They always feel as if they never need maintenance or repairs because they don’t do anything other than give you a sightline to the outside. But your windows do more than just give you a pretty view to the outside – and they need some time, love and care, too! There are tell-tale signs within your home that indicate you need to give your windows a little more attention, and maybe even replace them.
Higher Energy Bills
If you’ve noticed that your monthly energy bills are increasing and you know that your HVAC system is in perfect working order, you might want to check on your windows! The older a window is, the more likely they are to allow the controlled climate you’ve created in your home to escape outside. This leakage causes you to miss out on the full capacity your HVAC system has to offer, as well as increasing your monthly payments!
A way to prevent this is by getting your windows replaced with a low-emissivity, or Low-E, glass. This kind of glass helps keep temperature insulated within your home and adds a protective barrier from the outside, so the warm or cold weather that is occurring outside of your home’s walls stays that way. At Window World, we offer high performance Low-E coatings on our windows in addition to our spacer system to ensure your windows are giving your home the best possible chance of maintaining a high level of energy efficiency.
Condensation
Although condensation appearing on your windows is perfectly normal throughout the year, the location it forms should bring concern. If the condensation is forming between the two panes of glass on your window (meaning you can’t wipe the condensation away), you should look into replacing the window. When condensation forms in that in-between layer, it means that there is a leak within the seal between the window frame and the window itself. This leak can cause your home to lose energy efficiency and accumulate moisture on the window frame, leading it to decay and grow mold!
Harder Window Operation
If opening and closing your windows has become a workout, you might want to look into replacing them. Operating your windows shouldn’t require an excess of effort, they should open smoothly. The older your window is, the more likely it is that operating it will become harder. This harder operation is due to the frame aging around the window and the hinges within the window itself requiring a smoothing agent, like oil, to continue to work in normal order. By replacing the window, your issues of hard operation will disappear.
Decaying Window Frame
The easiest way to tell if your window needs to be replaced is to analyze the frame it sits within. If the wooden frame is starting to look a little too rough-for-wear, it’s time to replace it. As wooden frames are exposed to water and moisture from condensation and gradual wear-and-tear of being opened and closed, the wood starts to decay and warp. This warping can lead to your windows becoming leaky, which causes your home to be less energy efficient.
The more moisture the window frames accrue, the more likely you are to have a build-up of mold in your home. The longer you wait to replace your old window frames, the larger the problem will be!
For more information on how you can maintain an energy efficient home, contact Window World to see the outside world a little clearer.
