Energy efficiency: it is a term that has become increasingly prevalent in North American media, politics, and pop culture, as a growing awareness of the earth’s finite resources and concerns over anthropogenic climate change are raising alarm bells over the sustainability of current energy-use levels.
One of the main areas where energy efficiency has become a major concern is in the domestic sphere. With plenty of tools now available to allow homeowners to calculate their carbon footprint, the imperative to make homes more energy efficient has grown.
In a few cases, this has even lead people to embrace large-scale projects to make their homes one hundred percent carbon neutral, like installing solar panels; in many more cases, concerns over energy efficiency have driven investment in green appliances that use less energy and water, and in smart thermostats that heat homes more strategically. The advance of the latest tankless water heaters in many homes across North America is a testament to such progress.
The drive toward efficiency has also had a major impact on how people outfit their homes. Windows and doors are serious weak spots when it comes to making your home more efficient, and many companies, like Ontario-based EcoTech Windows and Doors, have capitalized on concerns over energy use by offering their customers a wide range of efficient alternatives that provide better insulation.
But while energy efficiency is a crucial issue for those who are deeply concerned about the state of the environment, it is also an absolutely essential concern for those who want to economize.
As energy prices rise, the cost of inefficiency rises as well, and installing new energy efficient windows now is the best way to ensure that the money you spend heating your house isn’t heating the outdoors.
For example, as soon as you learn how air leaks damage your home it becomes clear that installing energy efficient windows providing world-class insulation aren’t just good for the planet; they are also good for your bottom line.
As much as twenty-five percent of total energy loss in a house is typically through windows and doors, and those leaky windows are doing a lot more than just burning carbon — they’re burning money, as well.
This is perhaps unsurprising. Studies have shown that a single pane of glass has a fairly low R-value: 0.03, to be exact. But triple-glazed windows improve on that this significantly, and even better insulation rates can be achieved when the air between panes is replaced by gasses with more insulating properties, like argon.
In much of North America, rising costs driven by lack of energy security are already being felt. And while governments on all levels are looking for a variety of solutions to the problem of shortages, in an increasingly crowded planet, efficiency is one of the only ways to ensure that there is enough energy to meet all our needs.
This means that the environmentally friendly decision to replace your windows and doors with more energy efficient models is also the right economic choice. Don’t continue to squander your dollars on excess heating bills caused by an inefficient house — find a window installation company specializing in energy efficient products in your city today.
