The Unvarnished Truth…

How Your Windows & Doors Effect The Energy Efficiency Of Your Home And Your Monthly Utility Bills.

So what is the real cause of high energy bills? It's not just your windows or your doors, it's how ALL of the components that contribute to your home's energy efficiency work together...such as your furnace, insulation in the walls, ceilings and floors, attic ventilation and most importantly, your windows and doors.

Most people believe that windows and doors with poor seals that leak and inefficient glass are what is causing their energy bills to skyrocket. They are partially right. Although this is a large contributing factor, there is a much larger issue at the heart of the problem:

It's How The Window Performs—Over The Life Of Your Home—That Really Matters.

Your Window Has To Maintain It's Out-Of-The-Box Efficiency For Life. (i.e.The Glass, Sash, Frame, etc.)

It makes no difference how energy efficient a window is 'out of the box' if the sash, frame, seals, etc., fail after just a few short years. For example, most windows these days have some kind of low-emissivity (LowE), microscopic coatings applied to the glass as well as some type of inert gas which helps them better insulate your home. The process of coating costs money of course, and most people prefer not to spend money.

But most people don’t realize that the type of glass used in a window is the biggest determining factor of a windows efficiency. After all, the largest surface area of the window is the glass.

• According to The E.P.A, Windows That Are Just 8 Years Or Older, Are Not As Energy Efficient As Today’s Modern Window.
• In Fact, ENERGY STAR labeled windows and doors are twice as efficient as the average windows manufactured just 10 years ago

In short, if you have old, single paned windows or newer, builder grade windows that don't have sufficient, or any, coatings there is no doubt you will truly benefit from new windows in terms of comfort, reduced fading of furniture & floors and utility costs.

Purchasing new windows based on the most elaborate glass package is like throwing your money out the window if the rest of the components of the window (frame, sash, etc.) aren't going to last or perform as well as the glass.

Case in point:

Let's say you purchase a good quality, vinyl or vinyl/wood composite window with an impressive glass package. When that window is brand new, out-of-the-box, it will likely perform really well and save you lots of money on your utility bills. However, after just a few short years, vinyl can wildly expand and contract away from the glass every year with the changing of the seasons and temperatures.

Vinyl, otherwise known as poly vinyl chloride (PVC) is what is known as a "Thermoplastic", meaning that it can be altered in shape by fluctuation in temperatures and there is nothing to force it to return to its original, out-of-the-box square-ness and tightness. In reverse, the glass itself has very minimal expansion and contraction so it remains stable. Although your glass may continue to provide great solar protection, it doesn't prevent the air from leaking around the window sashes and frame when the vinyl has warped out of shape, and your utility bills go right back up again, not to mention that your windows may no longer close and function properly like they did when they were new. There is a reason you see so much "fuzzy" weatherstripping on a vinyl window. In fact, many people complain that when the wind blows they can actually hear wind whistling through the window frame

The word Vinyl has earned such a bad reputation over the years that many manufacturers have started calling their vinyl windows by other names like "polymer", "composite", "cellular" or begun adding things like wood fiber or rigid reinforcement to help them perform better. It's like dressing a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Bottom line, the best performing window has a sash and frame that is as stable as the glass so that the energy efficiency lasts more than just the first few years.

After over 40 years of repairing and replacing all types of windows, we finally found the perfect solution. Better than vinyl, better than wood, better than aluminum, better than any combination of all of those things! Infinity from Marvin is made from a proprietary fiberglass, called Ultrex. Unlike vinyl, which is Thermoplastic in nature, Ultrex is a "Thermoset". What this means is that the Ultrex sash and frame have a very minimal expansion and contraction ratio, similar to that of the glass, and have inherent properties that force them to maintain their original out-of-the-box properties. So, the energy efficiency will last, and last, and last.

Some people say we're crazy to sell a window that won't ever need to be replaced because we are eliminating future sales, however, that's just the Weber way. Do it once, do it right and then we don't have to make apologies.

We're sorry if we're coming off a little strong, but we hope you come to realize just how passionate we are about our Infinity brand of windows and how firmly we believe that they are the ONLY windows that can hold up long term to Kentucky's crazy fluctuations in weather.