When should you replace old windows?

Windows, Replace or Repair?

We often get asked if it is a good idea to replace old windows with new and better performing windows为了省钱。通常情况下，让房主们感到惊讶和宽慰的是，我们经常告诉他们，继续用他们现有的房子。Not to say that the idea of replacing windows is always 'green washing', but it's not necessarily going to save energy and money once you run all the numbers, so we recommend that windows should only be replaced when renovating a home when they are in an "unsalvageable" state of disrepair or wood decay & rot.

Yes, old windows willleak more air and lose more heat而不是新的，但是更换Windows也有一个能源变量需要考虑。Purchasing a new window will also have its own energy andcarbon footprint在原材料提取、制造和运输方面。

The cost of replacing windows is pretty high and predominantly labour based; partly in manufacturing, but you have to factor in the cost of installation and finishing as well. So if you're going to replace old leaky windows, you might as well get good ones. To go to all that effort and install a low-quality double-pane window doesn't make sense from a financial point of view, or even quality of life. If you want to learn why we getcondensation on windows and how to stop it, see here.

如果你打算购买一套双层玻璃到三层玻璃，通常意味着要额外支付20-25%的价格，而且如果你最终决定买一些的话，额外的投资会相对较快地从节能中获得回报。Beyond energy savings, a triple pane window offers greater durability,reduced sound transmissionand a noticeably more comfortable home on cold days. All that is to say, you need to knowhow to choose the best windows for your house hereandsee here to know which type of window frame to choose between wood, aluminum or PVC / Vinyl

Will replacing old windows save money?

The short answer is, it's not likely. From a standpoint of saving money, a complete home window replacement job rarely justifies the cost, although it depends if extensive work is going to be needed to renovate old windows too. For full disclosure before we do 'our' math,we don't like vinyland we would only ever install triple pane windows with Low- E coatings and wood or fiberglass frames - or thenew generation suspended-film insulating-glass windows or glazing units..

A truly accurate assessent of whether or not you should replace windows would take a quote of the windows you want and possibly energy modeling of your existing winodws and potential new ones to see how far out your payback period would be be, but to quickly do your ownveryrough guesstimation - imagine the cost of a good quality triple pane window of perhaps 4x5 feet; call that about $1,200 for arguments sake. Now add installation and finishing costs - we'll conservatively call that $400 to install, insulate, and replace trim inside and out.

现在看看你的取暖费用，看看是否有可能通过增加窗户的节能来收回更换窗户的成本。通过更好的窗户来节省价值1600美元的热量需要多长时间，你能活那么久吗?在大多数情况下，你不太可能看到投资的回报。窗户本身很可能不会持续很长时间，因为在需要再次更换之前，它需要收回资金。

When to replace windows:

If your windows are extremely damaged by water infiltrationyou have a strong case for replacement. Letting rot go unchecked in your house will just lead to further problems. More than just the loss of heat, money and comfort, over time rot could spread beyond just the window and affect the structural integrity of the wall itself. There is alsoair quality issues考虑到你可能有霉菌和霉菌。在这种情况下，替换单独的窗口可能是明智的。

这里的问题当然是“滑坡效应”，即只更换一面墙上的一扇窗户可能会很显眼，而只更换一面墙上的窗户可能会很显眼。不幸的是，你要赶走的是你自己的恶魔;我们帮不上什么忙。

Repairing old windows:

If your frames are in relatively good shape and the issue is air leakage, repair is not only possible, it will likely be much cheaperand offer a very quick payback for your efforts in terms of saving energy and money.

Air tightness- air isn't moving through the glass, it’s leaking around old seals and perhaps between the window frame and rough opening. If you can stop that from happening you have stopped your air leaks, so having airtight windows may be only a tube of caulking away.

第一步是确定空气是从哪里泄漏的。Keep in mindthe natural stack effect of buildings- warm air rises, so in the absence of wind pressure air will leak in on the bottom floors and leak out on the top floors, so it may be a little tricky to identify leaks from the inside on upper levels. A cold windy day may help you with your forensics, also look for signs of moisture damage like water staining, mold and mildew.

How to fix fogged windows:

Over time, the seals in windows start to wear down allowing air to leak in and out, in some cases this leads to windows with humidity between the panes. There are companies that offer a service of defogging windows, often for about half the price of replacement. This is a solution where we are quite suspicious of the assessment of savings and final quality.

为了修复起雾的窗户，要在玻璃上钻孔，以便于清洗，然后在这些孔中安装排湿阀，以确保空气流通，并在未来消除水分，这样问题就不会再次发生。这就在窗格之间产生了对流循环，所以在修复后，双层窗格的窗口可能会表现得更像单层窗格。虽然它们可能看起来更好，但它们可能比修复前表现得更差，所以不要把这视为一种节能省钱的解决方案。

In the long term, the added heat loss with de-fogging in our opinion negates the proclaimed benefits of this repair solution. We would instead recommend at that point to consider replacing the thermals, which are the sealed glass units inside the frames. The thermals of double paned windows have a lifespan of about 20 years, so it is fairly normal to have to replace them.

Replacing window thermalsis often an option, that's done without having to remove and change the entire window, you just remove the trim on the inside of the window (whether it is fixed or operational) to access the thermals, which are the sealed glass units inside the frame.

This is initially more expensive than the defogging but cheaper in fairly short order due to energy savings, and it's a good time to upgrade to gas-filled chambers and Low-E coatings, even ones with a third pane if there is room for the added thickness.

最佳的解决方案将取决于您正在考虑替换的窗口的初始状态。有些问题应该提出并回答——漏洞有多大;车架状况是否良好;框架是绝缘的，他们有Low-E涂层吗?

If in the end you decide to replace your windows or you're buying some for a new build, check out some of the page sponsors below - EcoHome always selects such people carefully. Windows are not all created equal, choosing the right ones and a proper installation will have a huge impact on how they perform and how long they last.

Suspended film windows:

Suspended film thermals are an alternative to triple pane thermals, where rather than glass, a virtually weightless transparent film creates an additional sealed chamber of air. They can come with multiple films making them among the highest performing windows on the market.Read more about high performance suspended film windows here.

Now you know when to change windows, seeHow to install windows and doors correctly here, from the EcoHomeGreen Building Guidesorsee here to discover whether skylights are a bad idea?