It’s common knowledge that a home loses a lot of heat through its windows, so if you’re just about to do a major renovation, it makes complete sense to take a serious look at the condition of your windows. Chances are, you’ll find lots of areas for improvement. And you don’t have to be a master craftsman to make some important changes yourself, as long as you are prepared with a solid plan of action. Windows renewal falls largely under the DIY category nowadays – if you know what you’re doing.
Are your windows energy efficient
Nowadays, pretty much all window manufacturers have caught on to the idea that green is becoming more and more popular, so it’s usually easy to get the full energy efficiency ratings for any given product and do your own comparison.
Considering how much windows can contribute to the energy efficiency of your home, it’s important to pay attention to several factors when doing this research: the Light-to-solar gain will be critical if you value the quality of sunlight coming in your home every day, for example. This factor measures how well a window can insulate against heat coming in along with the actual sunlight from the outside. It’s also a good measure for how much heat your home would leak through the windows during the colder seasons.
In addition to that, windows coated with low-emissivity materials can add extra protection against heat making its way out. They may cost more, but it’s usually a wise long-term investment that’s definitely worth it.
Most of these factors won’t affect the installation process for the window and you should still be able to handle everything yourself if you pay attention to the instructions. But if you buy any model that features special materials or something else that requires additional attention, this might make the renovation fall outside of the scope of your typical DIY project.
Implementing green insulation in your windows
You can do a surprising lot all by yourself when it comes to making your home greener and more energy efficient, especially when you’re renovating the windows. Other than the obvious tasks of applying special insulating coating and other complicated jobs, there are some subtler things you can do to help keep your home warmer.
For example, the kinds of shades you’re using on the windows can make a great difference. Using advanced insulating shades, combined with a heavy curtain can make a huge difference in how much heat your home is leaking. It can also add a lot to its looks, and since you’re renovating, why not take the opportunity to make the place look nicer as well?
When people think of insulation, they typically only consider temperature. However, it’s just as important to make sure that your windows don’t leak sound if you live in a noisy environment. Dealing with road noise pollution can be tricky, but as long as you invest in the right equipment, it doesn’t have to be a detrimental factor in your life.
You can also apply special coating to your windows to make them insulate heat better. It’s not very expensive and it’s also easy to apply yourself, making it another perfect tool in the arsenal of any DIY home renovator. You’ll have to familiarize yourself with the specific properties of the different coatings available on the market, but most manufacturers nowadays tend to make it really easy to find the right product among those.
Make sure you always consult with an expert if you’re going to introduce more drastic changes in your home’s layout which could potentially affect its energy efficiency even more. It’s easy nowadays to get precise efficiency ratings and evaluate just how much you’re affecting the situation, and it’s much better to do this early on instead of having to deal with the consequences once you’ve actually run into problems caused by a mistake.
Conclusion
It’s not that hard to contribute to a great, green home yourself these days. All it takes is a little planning and knowing the right tools and materials. And as long as you approach the project with a realistic mindset and don’t overburden yourself with tasks that will end up impossible, you should find this to be a very pleasant process overall. Living in a home with green windows, and one that’s the result of a DIY project nonetheless, can be a very rewarding experience.
