On window manufacturers

06 Nov 2006

Got questions about the environment? Ask Umbra.

Dear Umbra,

We are looking into replacing some of our windows. Any thoughts on which companies are more environmentally friendly, not just in the energy-efficiency of their windows, but in the manufacturing process (Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood, recycling materials, etc.)?

Lyell Slade
Concord, Mass.

Ask Umbra continues below

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Dearest Lyell,

Let's warm up on this topic: Windows in residential buildings are responsible for about 2 percent of the country's overall energy usage. Replacing inefficient windows might save you 40 percent of your personal energy costs, depending on your current windows and those with which you replace them. For those in milder climates, it will be less.

No pane, no gain.

Photo: iStockphoto

There are manufacturers who use FSC-certified lumber, and who reuse materials. I can't name specific companies, but it's an additional layer of questions for your potential suppliers.

First, as you consider the materials, configuration, glazings, vendors, and price comparison for new windows, you'll need help from the Efficient Windows Collaborative. A quick surf will give you information about the window components important to your Concordian climate (you can search for advice by state), the money you might save (you can search energy savings according to window type), and the jargon with which you will approach suppliers. In their membership section, you can look for manufacturers in your area with whom the jargon will be useful.

EWC recommends looking for manufacturers who are also members of the American Architectural Manufacturers Association and the Window & Door Manufacturers Association. All these memberships assure you a well-made window whose makers use the National Fenestration Rating Council system, your guide to window efficiency (please see my previous window discussion to catch up).

What you have added to your personal quest is the need to check with one more organization, the Forest Stewardship Council. I suggest that you walk through the EWC site above, decide what type of windows are in your ballpark, narrow it down to a few manufacturers, and then search FSC to see if the manufacturers you have chosen have the FSC stamp of approval. (You could also reverse the search and start with FSC certificates for window makers.)

In regard to reused materials, you will need to ask the suppliers themselves and trust their answers. Your best hope for an easy, no-research-for-you answer is a green-building professional who knows his or her window manufacturers inside and out. (I knew I could eventually open up on some bad window puns.) I do not fit this description. You'll need a good carpenter in the end, anyway, because shoddy installation will undo all your good work. If you have no place to start looking for that green-building professional -- no word-of-mouth contractors, no local eco-building organization -- I had a little luck finding leads for you on the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's Yellow Pages. Maybe something there would pan out.

Internet resources will get you fairly far along on this project. You will be able to find the windows you seek, and when you do replace your old windows, don't forget to return to the EWC site and learn how to claim the federal tax credit [PDF] and state and local financial incentives available to you. Ye who dread the cost of window replacement would do well to browse these, too -- you might find yourself incentivized.

Glazily,
Umbra

Yours is to wonder why, hers is to answer (or try). Please send Umbra any nagging question pertaining to the environment -- but first check out her FAQs!

The claims made in this column may not reflect the views of this magazine. Neither the magazine nor the author guarantees that any advice contained in this column is wise or safe. Please use this column at your own risk.

Umbra Fisk is Grist Research Associate II, Hardcover and Periodicals Unit, floors 2B-4B.

Comments: (3 comments)

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Windows and Window repair

I think the value of 40% household energy use is through windows may be a historic value that may not stand up to serious analysis.

What we have found is window replacement for economic reasons gives one of the poorest returns possible.

If a window is physically falling apart then the move to the most efficient possible which in the US is overall pretty poor. The most efficient come from Canada or Europe. If you want to see some super windows go to those Certified for use in the European Passiv Haus construction standards. These standards are remarkable with a strong focus on Sustainability. Energy consumption is a tich more than 1kwh/sq ft/year! I hope your German is better than mine! http://www.passiv.de/

by Phil Smith at 2:11 PM on 06 Nov 2006

preservation

I don't know how old the house in question is, but you might consider that the windows are an integral part of the house and its character. Not that you should tolerate inefficient windows, of course! But if your house has old-fashioned true divided lights (TDLs)--the ones where each pane of glass is held separately by a frame within the frame, and the muntins aren't just there for looks--I humbly submot, as a preservation grad student, that storm windows can be installed outside the existing windows, thus conserving both energy and cultural resources. I'm not one of those preservationists who thinks that if you change the windows ona historic house, you've utterly ruined it forever, but bear in mind that anything over 50 years old is potentially eligible for listing on the National Register, and thus potentially part of our cultural heritage.

I can't even belive I'm writing this. I just finished a midterm, and it shows. Ugh. :)

by willa at 8:01 PM on 06 Nov 2006

storm windows great choice

As a seasoned historic preservation employee, I concur! Storm windows have been found to equal if not exceed the efficiency of replacement windows. My own old house was built c. 1926, with metal casement windows (brrrr). When the previous owners purchased it in 1970, it came with interior wood storms. I'm still using them, and find them easy to install each fall, and store each spring in a closet in the spare bedroom.

If the windows are in really bad shape, one should also look at replacing the sashes (the movable parts that have the glass) and not the entire window. Replacement sashes are a good option when the originals are deteriorated.
Ann G.

by ann g at 4:06 AM on 07 Nov 2006
[ Parent ]

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