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Have you ever once actually taken the time to go around and check the condition of all the windows in your home? Have you made it part of your annual or bi-annual cleaning process to check all windows? Homes anywhere over 15-20 years old are generally in desperate need for a window upgrade, whether it look that way at an initial glance or not.

New optimally-designed windows do so much more than JUST boost energy efficiency, they also drastically help improve your home’s curb appeal, have far better function and easier cleaning than old windows, boost natural light, and of course they DO drastically boost energy efficiency. Windows are also a pretty important security point for any home, on top of being the main factor as to the comfort of your home. Your home should start slowly showing you some signs that it’s time to start planning for your window renovation. Let’s go over some of the biggest indicators that you need new windows.

“Why do my energy bills keep creeping up every year?”

It very well may be your energy company just deciding to charge you more money, but it’s just as likely that your windows are slowly becoming less and less effective at keeping your nice climate controlled air in – and the outside air outside where it belongs.

During the wintertime do you have some windows that just seem to let in copious amounts of cold air in? If your windows even feel slightly cool to the touch, you can rest assured that your warm air is being rapidly cooled down as it gets near your windows. This can make exterior rooms in your home extremely cold even with the heat pumping, and we don’t even need to talk about what a waste of money that is.

If your windows are really old you can probably take a bright light source like a flashlight, leave it outside looking on the edges of your window, and if you look closely you’re likely to see lots of tiny holes where the light is actually leaking in. And rest assured it isn’t just light that can get through there, your nice conditioned air is heading directly out of there.

As the temperate gets more extremely cold or warm, your heating or cooling bill is going to increase accordingly. Most American’s spend 40% of their total energy budget just on home heating and cooling, imagine if you could seriously cut this number down to a point where you find yourself not even having to run the A/C or heat nearly as much. Most older windows are single-paned – meaning one piece of glass is the only thing between your home and the outside. New windows are generally at least double-paned and have been fine tuned over decades to prevent as much air transfer in and out of the home as possible.

Consider the actual function of your windows

We’ve all dealt with older windows that you have to shove your entire bodyweight into to close or that only work at weird angles, annoying stuff like that. A quality window should be able to lock tight, but also open and close with a minimal amount of force. Wooden windows and window frames are the worst for this as they swell over time they can really get out of align and cause a lot of headache. New windows also come with all kinds of cool features and easy ways of opening, making for easy cleaning and a fantastic view.

Windows SHOULD keep sounds out as well

Soundproofing is a big selling point for windows. They aren’t JUST there to keep warm or cold air out, windows serve a critical role in the overall operation of a home. If you live anywhere near a highway or particularly busy road you know just how annoying it gest when you hear cars drive by constantly even at the earliest hours of night. Not to mention 18-wheelers or those loud jacked up trucks that we all love so much – an old single paned window isn’t going to do anything for you there. A good double or triple paned is going to stop nearly all of that sound from coming in and keep the inside of your home peaceful. So don’t underate the importance of windows thick enough to cut down on noise. Whether that be traffic from the city of the noise of you driving heavy equipment out back because you live out on a big plot of land.

Leaky Windows & Frame Decay

These are probably some of the most obvious signs that it’s just about time to suck it up and replace your windows. If you have wooden window frames and they are literally decaying or falling apart at all you need to get on top of that asap! It will go downhill quickly, as great as wood is to build with it really doesn’t last forever.

If your windows have any leaks at all, that is a horrible sign. If water can get in that your nice conditioned air is leaving in mass, though with water coming in you have bigger issues to deal with. Before that leak gets bad enough to ruin your hardwood floor or get your carpet moldy we recommend that you get these replaced as soon as you can. A lot of people ask if window replacement charlotte can just be repaired once these issues arise but honestly no that’s no better than just putting a temporary bandage on the issue.

Condensation is a very bad sign in multi-paned windows

Are you seeing condensation buildup seemingly every time it gets humid outside or the weather changes? If you’re just getting a little bit of moisture on the very outside of your windows on a humid day well that may not be an issue – but if you have an accumulation of moisture inside your window panes then that is a 100% sure sign that your seal has failed and at this point your air is leaking freely! If you want your home to run as efficiently as possible all parts need to be running smoothly – one leaky window could be crushing your overall savings into the ground even if the rest of your windows are working flawlessly.

Windows are not a small investment they are something you need to seriously consider but they bring with them many benefits as we said above like boosting curb appeal, letting in all that natural light, increasing the security of your home, and saving you money on your energy bill.

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