The real estate market doesn’t look good for most home buyers or sellers. Recently we’ve seen the stock market rebound but with unemployment at 10%, general earnings down, inflation at an all-time high homeowners are reluctant to spend on home improvement projects. The uncertainty of what tomorrow, next week, next month or even next year will bring has too much fear and anxiety attached to it. Homeowners are reluctant to spend with such uncertainty in the market. Yet there are a few projects that have benefits beyond return of investment.

But one must change the rationale of thinking to see the validity in the concept I am about to propose. If you’re like me you usually rationalize home-improvement projects by using a list of rationalization criteria. That list might contain many criteria in any order depending on your personality but will usually contain most or all of the following.
1. Cost versus need
2. cost versus want
3. cost versus return on investment
4. investment versus savings

It’s not a long list, but generally when we do home-improvement projects these are the basic questions or rationales we use in justifying the projects we undertake. If we see a project that is in need we do our best to meet that need properly with the least amount of money.

If there’s a home-improvement that we want we tend to look at all the things in our life before we progress. We look at our finances more closely we decide can we squeeze one more payment in. We also tend to do a bit of financial forecasting, by looking at what we actually make what we owe, what the future holds for our income and maybe if were really into forecasting we might look at what the next year or two looks like in our personal economic outlook before we make any decision to proceed.

Cost versus return on investment is a little bit more sophisticated than the other two I’ve just mentioned. When we do home improvements under this particular guideline we look at how much we spend and how much what we have spent will be returnable investment in our home at sale time. Now I’m not saying everyone looks at every home-improvement in this manner but we sure need to look at it when it comes to doing major remodeling or major upgrades to our homes.

The last rationale in my list that we might tend to use, investment versus savings might well be better stipulated as the all-encompassing rationale. If we see home-improvement project that we can do that will actually save us money in the long run it’s a bit easier to justify. But even so easy justification because of savings still takes into consideration all of the other rationales. It’s a simple fact we will look at all the others in relation to how much money we actual save doing the project and here I can give you at least one good example of how this would come into play.

If you have a home that is more than 15 years old and you have never replaced the windows and doors since purchasing the home then it’s a pretty sure bet that you can save money on your energy bills whether the heating or cooling if you upgrade to new Windows and doors. Over time regardless of how efficient the windows and doors originally were their effectiveness degrades. Degradation of window and door efficiency over time increases the amount of energy needed to heat or cool a home. The amount of savings that you might receive by replacing your windows and doors with new replacement windows and doors depends on where you live and how many windows and doors you have.

The more extreme the climate you live in, the more savings you will realize by installing brand-new Windows and doors. The more temperate or moderate climate that you live in, the less your home might benefit from the installation of new replacement windows and doors. That however is not to say that replacing windows and doors will not benefit you the point of it being cost effective to do so.

It would be at this point all the other rationales that I’ve listed would come into play. And the thought process might go something like this. How much do we really need the improvement? Is this improvement something we want to do? If we improve our home by adding brand-new Windows and doors will it increase the overall sale value of our home? If we add new replacement windows and doors to our home how much money will we save on our energy bill, and how long will it take to recoup the money we spend upgrading to new Windows and doors?

The only way that one could conceivably think that these rationales would not come into play would be if you were planning on staying in the home you are currently in forever. But even then the fourth rationale will someday take over because every tangible thing regardless of what it is will degrade over time if not taken care of. Homes are strange and the fact that if they’re taken care of properly they appreciate over time. But the same is true in reverse a home that is not taken care of will depreciate over time. You make the choice.

Scott Best is a freelance author in connection with Brand New Windows.com, who strives for excellence in the topics he chooses to publish about. Brand New Windows.com is a web based resource for all manner of information pertaining to Brand new, and New Replacement Windows and all manners of window replacement information.

Copyright © 2011 Scott Best: All rights reserved

About the only window technology available to consumers that is readily available and cost effective is low e glass or multiple thermal pane windows. Sure we can apply electric motors to some types of windows, or add different films to windows to achieve different degrees of darkening but we don’t really consider these as high technology promise fulfillment.

When I think of high tech windows I tend to think of such things as star trek. Ok so Star trek might be a little over the top but when the idea of high tech windows comes to mind I tend to think of more than a simple window that opened with a crank handle or sash pull. Granted windows have come a long way in technology that we don’t see. Low e glass is one that we often don’t think about. A technology that has been around for many years, it cuts down on the harmful UV light that enters our homes fading our carpets and furniture, it also reduces the amount of excess heat during warmer weather cutting cooling costs by a large percentage. It can also be used, depending on how the film is applied to the window, to reflect heat back into the home during cold months thus saving on heating costs.

I can remember as a child seeing those late fifties early sixties news real type shows that depicted the home of the future with smart appliances as well as smart windows and doors. Much of those shows that dealt with early concepts and early ideas about how technology might be used in the future have seen those ideas come to fruition.

You can go into almost any home and find smart appliances such as refrigerators and ranges, heating and air conditioning systems, even water heaters and washing machines. All of these types of appliances have come of age and adopted some type of smart technology. But what happened to the innovations we were told would be coming for windows?

S P G or switchable privacy glass was one innovation that was predicted to be commonplace in the home by the year 2000. That technology does exist but isn’t commonplace. Photo gray windows such as the glass used in optical lenses were believed would also be commonplace by now but are not.

The actual photo gray technology like that used in optical lenses proved to be too expensive for window application. But other tinting or automatic darkening technology does exist but is generally still too expensive to be commonplace in consumer windows. It is however a technology that is in use in some commercial applications.

Other technology such as switchable privacy glass has actually made it into consumer based product production at one time or another but with very limited success. Not for lack of interest in the technology by in large but rather because of the failure of the technology to meet the needs of consumers or simply the failure of the technology to deliver as promised.

The Milgard window company actually put a version of smart switchable privacy glass windows into production for consumer windows. The windows seemed to be well received but Milgard was forced to abandon production because of technology failures resulting in an unacceptable rate of return and general dissatisfaction of consumers with the product. They have abandoned the idea for now at least in favor of an auto tinting window technology which is still under development.

Other window companies as well have had similar experiences with switchable privacy glass. But the idea is not dead in fact it has had a recent revival at Indiana university where the largest switchable privacy glass project ever undertaken has been complete on the Health Information and Transitional Sciences Building using SPD light control film produced by Hitachi.

Although this again is a commercial application for a new technology it speaks of hope for future consumer window products. Generally speaking, new technologies that arrive in the consumer market place are first proven in the commercial arena.

Many of what were once thought of as “space age” window technologies have come to be realities, but not many of them have become consumer affordable realities yet, and I stress the word yet

Copyright © 2009  Scott Best: All rights reserved

Over the years, there has been a steady stream of new technologies that have improved the quality and energy efficiency of new and replacement windows.  Some have been readily adopted and others have been less well received for a myriad of reasons.
 
Some were more practical than others.  Some were more cost effective than others.  Still other technologies just haven’t come of age yet, allowing business and home owners the ability to have full vision the effectiveness of the different technologies and the energy savings they provide.  In other words it may be that the majority of the would be users of these new technologies are still waiting for the reviews to start filtering in about how each in its own way has stood the test of time and trial in real world situations.
 
Let’s face it, new technology is generally always more expensive.  And until the technology has time to prove itself, consumers are reluctant to shell out the extra money especially in hard economic times such as these.  Fortunately many of the “new” technologies are beginning to come of age.  The downswing in not only the United States economy but the world economy as well has prompted a new interest in saving as much as possible not so much in the short term but in the long term strategies approach as well.

New home construction is at a record low in the United States especially.  The real estate market has taken a nose dive that analysts won’t even surmise a prediction about when it might end.  In the face of all of the negative events and bad economic news, these new window technologies may prove to be the silver lining of a very gloomy gray cloud.

With big emphasis on having a Green Fuel Planet, consumers are looking for ways to be green by saving energy. And at the same time they want to save money and add value to their homes in a depressed market place.  Doing all that in one fell swoop seems a bit much to expect, but actually has the potential to be possible to varying degrees using some of the new high-tech windows that are available.

First let’s start by outlining a few of the not new but recent tech innovations for new and replacement windows and what they bring to the table.

Low E glass
Is usually a double pain windows system whereby two panes of glass are separated by a dead air space or one filled with an inert gas such as argon. The E stands for emissivity. Low E glass works by reflecting heat back to its source. It does this by utilizing an ultra thin metallic coating on or in the glass.  It does work; it has been around for a long time and is relatively cheap.  Subsequent types of windows using this system made more use of the concept by adding a third pane of glass making the overall effectiveness of the solar barrier even greater.
 
Smart Glass
Next came what is known as smart glass. There are several different types of smart glass, all of which work pretty much the same way.  The glass goes from clear to either a single level or to varying levels of opaqueness controlled by a small electronic current that is passed through a special layer of glass,.  The advantages of such glass in energy efficiency are that it has the ability to block solar heat and UV light that passes through the window.  Some types require voltage to remain clear; others require voltage to become opaque.  But because they both do require electricity to operate and have a marginal ability to block solar heat, their actual Green quality is questionable at best. Having the ability to block at best about 20% of overall solar heat and UV light energy even though the numbers were proclaimed to be much higher they never lived up to the touted green quality.  They became more popular as a new kind of novelty window offering on/off privacy solutions or in expanse as windows that require no blinds or window coverings.

The next Generation Smart glass was called SPD which stands for suspended-particle-device and works pretty much as described above but in reverse.  Rather than being clear and needing voltage to become opaque it requires voltage to become clear, and is never totally clear but maintains a slightly milky translucent quality. The green factor was not improved to a great extent, but because of the way it operates. SPD windows found a bigger following in commercial office applications.  Some minor development was done for a variety of consumer windows from major window manufactures.

Electronic smart windows
The newest technology that is gaining favor in leaps and bounds is the new generation of Electronic smart windows that are comprised of several separate types of technology from a number of different companies. These new electronic smart windows have the ability via a small amount of electricity to go from clear to tinted.  The attractive feature is that they can come in a large variety of tint colors.  Some of the newest technologies are very green in that they can block up 70% or more of solar heat and UV light when active.  Another green advantage of some is that no sustaining voltage is required.  Electric current is only required to go from one state to the other; the materials maintain their degree of active tint until more or counter current is applied,   This new generation of smart windows have become very popular not only in large commercial buildings but as a very green window replacement option for home owners as well.

Although none of the technology that I have outlined is exactly new, it has taken time and a change in consumer thinking to bring them into the forefront of the green spotlight, Blocking 70% of solar heat and UV light is a very big step, and has very powerful energy saving potential.  Things such as smart windows for residential home use can no longer be overlooked or ignored as an option even though the initial cost is quite high.  Rising energy costs have narrowed the gap between extravagant and practical in the mind of many home owners especially with this new decline in the real estate market.  People are looking for ways not only to save money on energy but to add value to a home and make it more attractive to potential buyers.  New Smart windows make more and more sense every day

Scott Best is a freelance Author in association with Brand New Windows.Com. Scott Writes for many websites. With his unique perspective on many issues and topics Scott lends a high level of professionalism to the topics he writes about.

Copyright © 2008 Scott Best: All rights reserved