 | 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
2011-12-27 10:07:17
Utility bills through the roof
Q: The Eagle recently said that the natural gas bills should be about the same this year as last year. With all the other bills going up, is there something we can do to slow down the loss of heated air through our old windows so that we can save on the cost of heating our living spaces?
A: Well, it’s not a secret that window leaks do mean higher bills, and when the temperature heads down, and we adjust the thermometer upward to keep it warm in our houses, that monthly gas bill is going to be higher, no doubt about it. I read the same report you did that said that Kansas Gas Service charged $5.44 for a thousand cubic feet of gas in the month of October this year, which is about .40 a cubic foot higher than a year ago. Black Hills Energy, conversely, has reduced its charges by about 2% over a year ago, charging $5.02 a cubic foot. So according to that information, the cost monthly with the same usage as last year each month, should not vary that much based upon the charges by the gas company. A little higher if your provider is Kansas Gas.
A typical household will use around 80,000 cubic feet of gas in a year, most of it during the winter. The amount consumed can vary widely depending on the size of the house, the furnace efficiency, thermostat settings, and other factors, such as “are my windows leaking air.”
One way to learn the answer to “are my windows leaking air” is, take a bic lighter, or a match when the wind is blowing outside, which is nearly anytime in Kansas, and strike the match or lighter and hold it just inside the windows you think might be leaking air. If you see that match blow out, or a significant movement of the flame, you will know you have a problem. And you probably won’t solve that much air leakage by adjusting the thermostat. Your window units have a problem, either in the insulation, or lack thereof, around the frame, the seal around the windows themselves, or the glass panes and/or the glazing for those panes. If the glazing dries out, that can allow air to penetrate into the inside too. Any of these areas can create the air movement we’re talking about, and contrary to popular opinion, those windows don’t have to be ancient to leak air when the wind is blowing, as it does here in Kansas.
Thermo pane window technology wasn’t up to speed until about the 1990’s, and lots of windows installed in the 1980’s and before have proven to be a real problem. A lot of those windows leaked, lost their seals, and suffered a lot of dry rot from all of the moisture that stayed on the window frames and sills due to sometimes nothing but poor designs. Dry rot or wet rot in wood that is exposed to the elements every day, year after year, will eventually end up as a serious problem unless they are seriously maintained. This requires a homeowner to periodically assess the condition of the windows of the home, and take preventative measures to stop these types of things from getting out of hand. If you let them go, you will be doing a total replacement at some point down the road.
Sometimes, in older homes, even today, there are still single pane windows. A homeowner with single pane windows will lose heat and air conditioning right through those glass surfaces 24/7, year after year. That’s unnecessary, and very costly! It is much more cost effective to have those windows upgraded to multi-pane glass as soon as possible. Adding storm windows is another great way to stop air leakage. And when selling that home, these are the kinds of problems that are going to be turned up in an inspection, which will normally require the Seller to have the repairs made as a condition of sale. So it might make more sense to go ahead and do the repairs so that you can enjoy them, as well as the new owner after you’ve sold the home.
Your glass professional can evaluate your situation, and estimate the cost of adding panes of glass to your existing glass surfaces, and/or whether your windows should be totally replaced. And do yourself a favor and add the storm windows right now. You’ll begin saving money immediately if you do, and you’ll save that money year round. So, in summary, whether you take action right now, or whether you don’t, you’ll be paying for it either way. But, if you get those energy wasting window panes corrected right away, you’ll only continue to pay for this problem short term, rather than paying for not correcting it from now on…You can decide what you should do for your situation…and a call to find out what you should do costs you nothing. It is wintertime in Kansas! More next month…
