 | Bob Crager of Lewis Street Glass is a 26 year veteran in the glass business. Lewis Street Glass is a leading Wichita Glass company, serving the entire Wichita/Sedgwick County area since 1919. They do anything and everything having to do with glass, both residential and commercial. They also do Auto glass. They are located at 743 South Market, facing Kellogg on the South, and you can reach them by phone at (316) 263-8259. You can email Bob Crager at bcrager@lewisstreetglass.com |
Glass
2007-04-01 09:11:00
How many windows are too many in a home?
How many windows are too many in a home?
ANSWER: Of course that depends upon the particular home, but if you’ve ever had to live in a place that was built without enough windows, you’ll probably say there isn’t any way to have too many windows. It used to be said that “windows are little more than holes in the insulation.” It’s true to some extent that poorly insulated and drafty windows in certain climates defeat the purpose of wall insulation. However, modern high performance windows are almost as good as opaque insulated wall sections, at least in terms of total energy savings over lengthy periods of time. In some cases, they can be shown to actually out-perform insulated walls, believe it or not. Of course, they have the priceless additional benefits of providing views to the outdoors and natural daylight illumination indoors, which are considered important issues of quality and comfort.
The main purpose of a building and its windows is to provide comfort to the occupants. As the sun moves across the sky, as the outdoor air temperature and humidity vary, and as the wind and rain come and go, windows provide amazing creature comforts if they’re properly designed for the work they do for us. If comfort can be achieved while reducing the building’s energy use, and lowering monthly utility bills, so much the better. There are a number of well thought out guidelines for choosing window options for residential buildings in hot and/or or cold climates. Many of the principles we mention here apply as well to non-residential buildings.
However, there are major differences in the types of windows available for these two building classes, and there are normally major differences in their building occupancy schedules. This is important because unoccupied buildings don’t normally need illumination. Nonresidential buildings are most generally occupied during daylight hours. This provides a greater opportunity for the use of day-lighting, as in light tunnels and/or skylight applications in these buildings to displace electric lighting, saving energy in the process. Residential buildings are usually less occupied during daylight hours, due to the occupants being at work, out shopping, or perhaps performing amazing feats at the local golf course. So, in residential situations, there is less chance to save energy by using daylight to displace daytime electric lighting. With its relatively higher fraction of retirees; however, places like Florida, or other sun belt states offer numerous exceptions to this general rule. Proper selection and placement of windows for daytime lighting of residential building interiors can displace the electric lighting that might otherwise be needed.
You see, windows are not directly energy-consuming devices. Sometimes they cause the building to use more energy than would be the case without them, and at other times they actually reduce the building’s need for energy. When windows let heat escape on cold winter nights (causing the heating system to use more energy) and when they admit solar radiant heat on hot summer afternoons (causing the air cooling system to use more energy) they increase the building’s energy costs. How can they reduce energy use? One way is to admit solar radiant heat into the building on a cold winter day. The solar radiation directly heats the building’s interior, and this heat is used to displace energy that would otherwise be purchased for heating the house. When daylight illumination enters through a window, it directly illuminates the interior of the building. If this daylight displaces electric lighting which would otherwise be on, there are energy savings from not having to turn on the lights. Windows are seldom selected by consumers on the basis of their energy performance alone. Instead, appearance, the operating mechanisms, color, and price dominate selection features. Energy impacts have been less important, due primarily to a lack of objective information about the window itself, or available at the sale site, regarding energy performance.
Here in the Wichita area, there is sufficient change in climate throughout the year that the selection of properly built and placed windows in a home can really make a difference in the energy necessary for the occupants to remain comfortable year round. And if you think about it, what might be more desirable than looking out of a wall of beautiful insulated windows upon green grass, shade trees, and flowers? Those are things we have an abundant supply of here in the middle of the US. With great window upgrades, you can bring the outdoors inside! And with springtime upon us, let’s enjoy all the good things we can see through our windows each and every day…more next month…
