Real quick…Here are seven reasons to install energy efficient windows:

• Save energy
• Save money from using less heating or AC
• Add to appearance of the house
• Protect a home’s interior furnishings from fading
• Higher impact resistance
• Make outside noise less audible
• Insulate your home better, keeping it warm in the winter and cool in the summer

With reasons like those, it’s no wonder energy efficient windows are all the rage. If your windows need to be repaired or even replaced, consider installing energy efficient windows.

How exactly do I pick out energy efficient windows?

When picking out energy efficient windows, you want to look for windows that are Energy Star certified.

Energy Star was developed by the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency. The government program’s purpose is to help individuals and organizations protect the environment through energy efficiency. The standard does not just apply to windows but to other products as well.

For the purpose of this article, we will be taking a look at windows that are Energy Star certified. What makes windows Energy Star certified? Any Energy Star product including windows must meet the following criteria:

• Have an NFRC (National Fenestration Rating Council) label. The NFRC tests the insulating quality of the entire window.
• Be 40% more efficient than the product usually requires under most building codes.
• Reduce energy bills by up to 15%.

Customers cannot just rely on the Energy Star label to pick out a good energy efficient window though. An important consideration for consumers is to select windows that are appropriate for the area of the country in which they live. Energy Star labels windows three ways:

• “N” for northern climates
• “S” for southern climates
• “C” for central climates

The three types of windows are designed to address the heating or cooling concerns in each climate: mostly heating for the Northern Zone, mostly cooling for the Southern Zone, and both heating and cooling for the Central North Zone and Central South Zone.

How Energy Efficient Windows Improve the House Aside from saving energy, energy efficient windows are particularly fantastic in states that can get extremely cold. These windows work to make homes warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, which becomes particularly evident in states with very cold winters and states with extremely hot summers. With these windows insulating well, homeowners spend less on heating and air conditioning bills. Energy efficient windows also improve the house due to their attractive appearance, though not all energy efficient windows are the same. Homeowners have choices concerning main parts of the window, such as the frame, panes, and spacers.

Parts of the Window

• The frame

Look for windows that have fiberglass, wood composites, or vinyl because these materials are better at insulating. One negative aspect of using wood material for framing is that wood can be difficult to maintain, often needing painting after a few years. Thus, if you choose to frame your windows using wood material, it’s advised to get some exterior vinyl or aluminum cladding to cover the wood frame.

• Window Panes

If wondering whether having multiple window panes is preferred to having one window pane, remember the phrase ‘Two is Better than One’ or ‘The More the Merrier.’ Two panes of glass with space in between filled with air or krypton or argon insulates better than just one pane of glass does. Certain Energy Star windows have windows with three or more panes of glass, which do the best job of insulating and have greatest the impact resistance as well as improved energy efficiency. Another benefit of multiple panes is that they keep outside noise out better than a single glass pane does.

• Low-E glass coating

Low-E coating is a special coating on the window that is great to have. It reflects infrared light to keep heat outside in the summer and inside in the winter. It also reflects ultraviolet light to protect a home’s interior furnishings from fading.

• Warm Edge Spacers

Warm edge spacers are great for reducing heat flow and preventing condensation. Made of foam, steel, fiberglass, or vinyl, they keep a window’s glass panes the right distance apart.

There are many brands of energy efficient windows from which to choose. Manufacturers include those such as Accent Windows, Andersen, Cascade Windows, CertainTeed, Gorell, Marvin, Winstrom, and many more. Home improvement companies select which manufacturer brand they would like to make available to their customers. For example, Highland Windows, a Connecticut home improvement company based in Hartford (http://www.allaroundthehome.com/ct/hartford/) is licensed to install Alside, another energy efficient window manufacturer, which has won The Energy Star Window of the Year Award three times.

Have you ever been amazed by the fact that although most of us followed the same standards when learning to write or probably attended the same institute; why can none of us write in exactly the same way as others does? Why does our handwriting differ so much from each other? Why are they so unique? When asked this question you will be tempted to promptly answer, “This is my style of writing!!” As I can say your answer is partially true. Do you know what shapes your style of writing? Well, it’s your personality. This very simple logic forms the basis of the science of ‘Handwriting Analysis’. Our handwriting is as unique as our personality or finger prints.

The science of evaluating and interpreting personality traits and human behavior through one’s handwriting is designated as ‘Graphology’; it is more commonly addressed as Handwriting Analysis. A Graphologist or Handwriting Analysts while analyzing one’s handwriting not only considers the writing but also the pressure, slant, spacing between the letters, margins and many more factors which can lead to an accurate portrait of the person concerned.

Emotions play a very indispensable role in each and every human life. Emotions are also responsible for the way we perceive things to some extent. It is your own handwriting which can clearly define the manner in which your emotions influence your thinking and perception. Your handwriting is a window to your inner self. It helps you to reflect on your thoughts, emotions, fears, actions and understand yourself in a very clear manner. Self reflection and self knowledge is the first step towards harmonious life. Graphology will not only address your weakness but it will also help you overcome them, as well as build on your strengths.

Though it seems that this science is new and still gaining its popularity, one will be surely amazed to know that it dates itself back a few hundred years. Since many years there has been extensive research in the subject and have helped a number of people in a numerous ways, be it personal, professional, emotional or spiritual aspects of human life. One of the major applications of handwriting analysis is personality assessment and development. Career guidance, relationship management, personnel selection are also a few common areas where in graphology plays a major role.

Life today is fast paced and the numbers of difficulties due to this fast paced life are also arising at an alarming rate. Deadlines, competition, erratic working hours, growing demands are not only taking a toll on one’s health but also on the self confidence and emotional state, which in turn affects their personal life as well. To cut out on stress and live a well balanced life, people are now putting in efforts. This is when people can benefit from a simple yet highly useful science of graphology to help add those wonderful colours of happiness and bliss back into their life and live with a content mind and heart.

If you have old aluminium windows that you want to either restore the existing colour or you wish to change the colour, then, you can rest easy. You’ve come to the right place.

The process of aluminium window painting can be broken down into a series of steps with two distinct stages. These are preparation and application. The inexperienced however, will try and skip on the preparation to the detriment of the look and durability of the finished product.

Preparation

The amount of preparation needed mainly depends on the type and condition of the original substrate. For example, if you have old powder coated painted aluminium windows that has chalky paint and rubs off against your fingers, then this will take a lot more preparation than newer powder coated surface that’s not chalking and is being painted for a colour change.

However, anodized aluminium windows will take a lot more preparation than all other substrates regardless of its substrate condition because, the surfaces needs a lot more mechanical abrasion to key the surface up enough to allow the paint to stick.

Protection of adjacent finished surfaces- Whenever you are painting isolated section, it is important that you protect adjacent finished surfaces. When painting the aluminium windows in your home or apartment, you’ll need to think about putting plastic drop sheets down, followed by canvas drop sheets. I suggest applying plastic film and 3M, which you can with a hand dispenser to protect the glass and the walls directly surrounding the window frame.

Cleaning – Make sure all surfaces are clean and free of dirt. Grime and grease are critical in the process of aluminium window painting. If surfaces are dirty then paint adhesion is reduced. Clean the frames on the outside with soapy water and a sponge. However, use a soap that is salt free such as truck wash. Wash off all excess soap with clean fresh water.

Then, alternately clean surfaces down both inside and out with solvent wash such as prepsol.

Use a scour to apply the solvent. The scour will clean and key the surface at the same time. It is important that you carry out a second solvent wash on dirty windows by applying solvent with a clean cloth then wiping off with another clean cloth.

Sanding the substrate – There is no easy way around this process. This can be difficult and monotonous especially getting into the tighter spots such as the upper channel because there is no mechanical sanding equipment that can make the job a lot quicker. Thus, doing the job manually by hand is hard and time consuming.

If you have powder coated surface that is chalking, I would recommend sanding with 120 grit. The sand paper is less likely to clog. If your substrate is powder coated and is not chalking then 240 grit will be enough to key the surface especially if you have scoured it first. However, if your substrate is anodized then you’re in for some real work because you’ll need to break out the 60 grit sand paper. Have some masking tape band aids for the ends of your fingers ready because this is where you are going to be “rubbing your fingers to the bone.”

Sixty grit will really carve the anodized surface up. And you would want the paint to really stick, right? Skip this and you’ll be doing the job all over again. Once you’ve done this, it’s best that you go over the job again with 120 grit sand paper to smooth out the gouges caused by the 60 grit.

You’re nearly ready to start the fun part which is applying the paint. Just before you paint a window give it another clean wipe using your solvent wash, remember to use two different clean cloths.

Painting- Use a three coat system with the first coat being a primer sealer light coat- use a single pac etch primer. The second coat being the first of the top coats, then the second top coat being the third coat.

At this point, you have to make a couple of choices. First, what type of paint do you want to apply? I recommend either oil based enamel or a two pac poly urethane. If you have little or no experience with using two pacs, stick with the oil based enamels and apply it using a quality brush. However, if you have used two pacs before, then, the only way to apply them is by using an HVLP spray gun in order to gain quality finish. The benefit of using a two pac paint over an oil based enamel, is that you will get a more durable quality finish that closely resembles a powder coat finish.

If you are struggling to find a reliable/good window cleaner and have tried looking through search engines it can be difficult to find someone reliable, especially in London. The best way to find someone reliable offering a good window cleaning service in is to ensure they are local and eager for new work. Going for the cleaning companies at the top of a list from a search engine will not always provide you with a window cleaner that is reliable and offers a good service.

If you are going to start looking for a local cleaner, try yell.com. You simply type in your area or postcode or even just the beginning of a postcode, let’s take for example EC2 in London, you simply type in EC2 and search for window cleaners. The search will provide you with all the window cleaners that provide a service in EC2. Note that if you type in your postcode, the first few window cleaning companies will not necessarily be the ones closest to you, they are the ones that have paid to have the top spots for postcode searches so you might be better manually scanning through the window cleaning companies that have the closest postcode to you. I know this because we have advertised with yell ourselves.

Another more creative way to find a good reliable cleaner is to visit the window cleaning rounds for sale website and go onto the ‘find or provide window cleaning work’ link, and you will see a list of window cleaners and window cleaning companies eager for new work as well as people that will be looking to sell work, but that will not be relevant to you.

Another way to find a window cleaner that is looking for new work, is to call your local window cleaning suppliers store, they are often the ones that know who offers a good window cleaning service and who is reliable.

A simpler way is to ask your neighbour if they have a window cleaner, or if you don’t know anyone on your street why not give them a knock. It could be a good way of getting to know your neighbours. Just look out for the houses that look like they have a window cleaner or clean looking windows. This is probably one of the best ways to find a window cleaner as they will probably be local. They will also probably be cleaning windows on the street regularly so you should be able to get a good price and receive a reliable service.

Once you have found a window cleaner whether in London or anywhere else, you should always be able to have your seals cleaned. In the past some individual window cleaners have not included this in their cleaning service or maybe even charge extra money for the service. But you will find that it is common practice to have seals included in the service anyway. If they kick up a fuss I would suggest using someone else.

The price you pay for window cleaning depends on the area, London generally charges more especially if you are in central London or a congestion charging zone. Not only do you have to pay for the congestion charge but usually parking in central London is difficult and expensive. It is also important to remember that if you are paying a very low price for window cleaning, it might not always be to your advantage. Remember ‘you get what you pay for’. Ask to see if the window cleaner has insurance etc and what exactly are they providing. Expect to pay more if you have windows that are hard to reach or very high windows. Also the type of windows you have will almost always affect the price of the service, if they are wooden or powder coated you may be charged more because it is more time consuming to clean them.

For most people their home is their most valuable asset. Every home owner or business owner understands the need to do basic maintenance to upkeep and protect their investment. It is also true that many people view window cleaning more as a luxury then a necessity. The simple fact is that windows in any home or office can only endure a measure of neglect before they will no longer get clean. While professional window cleaning may not be cheap, it makes perfect sense when one understands that your other options are “window restoration work” or “replacing” damaged glass which can cost thousands. Let me explain how this works.

Depending on what state your home or office is in will determine how often you need your windows cleaned. Each state has its own debris and climate which affects windows. I live and work in Santa Cruz CA. which has moderate temperatures but lots of debris. The most damaging hazard of all that exist in almost every state is what is called “Hard water stains.” Hard water stains take place when windows are subject to normal hose water, garden sprinklers and or run-off that gets on the glass. This water has mineral deposits that when left to dry on the window, will stain and even etch the glass. Add direct sunlight to this equation and the damage happens ever faster. A great example of what this looks like would be to consider your shower windows or shower doors if they are glass. They begin to look foggy but eventually they will not get clean without chemicals and a power buffer. This is called “Window restoration work” and can be very costly. If the windows are etched they may need to be replaced.

Some tips that will help you prevent “hard water stains’ damaging your windows would include, avoiding watering your windows when you water your outdoor plants and flowers. If you have sprinklers installed, be sure they are positioned so that they don’t spray your windows. And finally, be sure your rain gutters are not clogged or leaking causing water to run down the side of your house and windows. These simple steps are proven to save windows over time. In the event that hard water stains have already appeared, and hiring a professional window cleaner is not an option, you can purchase a variety of hard water stain removers from any of the leading window cleaning supply stores such as http://jracenstein.com or http://windows101.com.

The good news is all this can be avoided and for some it may start with this very article. Having been a fulltime professional window cleaner in Santa Cruz CA. since 1999, I know for a fact that having your windows cleaned even once a year can not only increase light in your home, decrees your heating bill by allowing more heat, but also protect your windows from hard water stains. It is also true that as your windows are cleaned regularly even hard water stains from the past will begin to break down.

When choosing a window cleaning company, make sure that you are taking enough time to consider the important factors that will offer you the best results for a reasonable price. There are a number of imitators out there that will make grand promises that they will not deliver on. Hiring a company like this can put you in situation where you will have windows that are not as clean as they should be, and in some cases, are actually worse off than before you began getting your windows cleaned! Having a poor experience with a window cleaner can be as frustrating as well as costly. This article will help you to avoid the pitfalls of paying more than you should for a quality window cleaner.

Documentation

The initial things that you should be sure of is if they are licensed, bonded and insured or not. This is one of the most overlooked items that a person or company will not think about. It will be of the utmost importance that you look to make sure that the company in question is actually insured. If you have doubts, then before you hire them, ask to see the proof that they are actually insured to do the work that they are being hired to do. If they fail to give this for your inspection, then you need to look elsewhere. Having these documents not only shows that they are a legitimate business, but it also shows that you will have some sort of recourse if something were to go wrong. Many people with broken windows or damaged gutters find out far too late that their contractor did not have insurance, or even a license to conduct business.

Affiliations

Look to see if they are associated with any professional associations. Most cleaners will have some sort of association that they will be happy to tell you about if it is not listed on their advertisements. This will be easy information that you should be able to get without any of trouble. Ask the window cleaner if this is not openly seen. Most companies will be happy to tell you that they are associated with these places. While it isn’t a huge deal to be a member of any organization that simply charges a fee, it lends to the credibility of the business in general and how seriously they take their craft. This will lead you to the next thing that you need to look at seriously, references.

References

It is important that the window cleaning company that you hire has a list of references that they will be able to provide to you. These should be provided without question to you when you ask. It is a good idea that you beware of any company that does not willingly offer this information to you or they simply just do not have them. References will be able to tell you if a company has a good history behind them or not.

Follow up on the references, ask a lot of questions, remember, your home is at stake. Is the company that you are looking to hire reliable? This is a question that you need to ask yourself. You need to make sure that when you are scheduled to have your windows cleaned, you are not left sitting around for hours or days waiting for the window cleaner to arrive. They need to have a high rate of being on time, and being where they are supposed to be. If this is in question at all, then you need to move on to the next company that is on your list. The next item you should look at is that of safety.

Safety

There needs to be a high safety rating listed for the company that you are looking to hire in your window cleaning company search. Safety should be a number one concern for the company you are looking to hire. Ask to see their safety rating and when the last time that they had an incident. Many companies will provide this information without being asked because they want to be as transparent as possible when dealing with the public. If they do not want to give it, the chances are, they have had a recent incident they might be trying to hide from potential customers.

Professionalism

Professionalism may not be a top thing to look for on your list, but it is something that should be looked at when making a decision about the company that will be in charge of your windows. You are paying a good amount for a professional job, the people that are in charge of your windows should be professional as well. This is one problem that many companies will have. They will have employees that are not as polite as they really should be.

Pricing

Pricing should be competitive with other companies in the same area. You need to do a little price comparison to see who will give you the best overall results. You don’t want to pay for a window cleaner and get taken to the cleaners for the bill. You also need to make sure that the cheapest cleaner is not the worst deal as well. There are a number of window cleaning companies that can give you a great job for a fraction of the price that you might expect to pay. Ask around and shop around before making a decision.

Equipment

The equipment that they use should be of quality as well. The better the equipment, then the better of a job that they will be able to do. Many companies will use equipment that is not the latest and greatest to save money. When this is done, the quality of the window cleaning that you will get will suffer. Be sure that you talk to the person you are looking to hire and make sure that they have equipment that will be able to handle the job you are putting in front of them.

All of these tips and tricks will be useful in helping you to get a window cleaner that you will be proud you chose. If you are not careful, you can get a deal that is far from good in the window cleaning experience. Follow these tips and you are likely to save money get clean windows that you can take pride in.

When it comes to maintenance, any house – big or small, has several areas/segments that require constant surveillance, but the latest UPVC windows do not need much maintenance. To sustain a well kept house one needs to keep an eye on different segments such as the paint, upholstery, furniture, fittings (which include all kind if fittings in the house), etc. Amidst all these segments, what holds priority in the maintenance list are the doors and windows of the house. The reason is evident, doors and windows are the only inlets that allow others inside retaining the security of the house, belongings and its occupants.

In previous times, the old mansions used to be constructed with huge wooden windows and doors, but times have changed now. There are several options available in the market that ranges form different kinds of woods to other metals and alloys. Different styles and designs are available that can make your home look stylish and elegant. But it is advisable to do a thorough market study before purchasing a new one. The latest range available today is the UPVC window or door.

The UPVC windows enhance the look of the house and are available in a variety of colours, sizes and textures. Since they are available in a variety of colours you can enjoy the freedom of choosing a designer colour matching the decor of your home. Elegant looks make them apt for both the interiors and exteriors of a building. They are very economical and have a longer life as compared to the wooden or aluminum frames. One of the most viable benefit that the UPVC windows have over the others is that maintaining them is a child’s play. They only require cleaning as a routine maintenance, unlike the Wooden Windows that need painting/polishing at regular intervals.

Also, they are weather resistant and do not wither in heavy rains unlike the wooden windows that either rot or swell during the rainy season allowing water leakage in the house. They are apt for the tropical conditions of the country as they are more durable in sustained exposure to sun. On the other hand, the Wooden Window starts fading and losing sheen in extreme summers. Also, UPVC is not prone to termites unlike the wooden counterpart which is eaten away by the termite and needs routine anti-termite disinfection program.

UPVC windows and doors add value to your home as they have a much longer life compared to the wooden window frames, which require constant maintenance and tend to deteriorate in the long run. If all these arguments are not enough to analyze the benefit of UPVC frame, one should also consider the point that they are environment friendly as they are materialized with minimum energy at the time of production.

Fenesta is amongst the most trusted UPVC door and window manufacturer of India that has been catering to numerous needs of all those who aspire for designer homes. Fenesta specializes in the services like designing, manufacturing and installing UPVC frames.

Summary – Amidst all these segments, what holds priority in the maintenance list are the doors and windows of the house. There are several options available in the market that ranges form different kinds of woods to other metals and alloys like the UPVC windows. UPVC windows and doors add value to the home as they have a much longer life compared to the wooden windows, which require constant maintenance and tend to deteriorate in the long run.

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive officer has unveiled a new mobile phone operating system on New York press event Monday. This is considered as a comeback move by Microsoft into the worldwide smart phone market which has been dominated by iPhone and Blackberry and as a result the window phone 7 has joined RIM, Google and Android, the three major mobile operating systems in the U.S.

Based on the features of Window phone 7, the new phone operating system is to set a new era in smartphones. The new platform is organized into eight sections:

1. People (your contacts);

2. Search; WP7 has a dedicated search button to help people find what they need, whether in contacts, in Marketplace, in e-mail or on the Web. From the Start screen, the Search button delivers Bing for mobile, delivering Web results, local information, maps, directions and more.

3. Pictures (including video and any uploaded Facebook or Windows Live snapshots),

4. Games (featuring your Xbox Live avatar and achievements); It also offers Xbox LIVE with a blockbuster lineup of game titles from award-winning publishers.

5. Music and video (with access to your Zune Social card); Windows Phone 7 has a Microsoft’s Zune music player platform offering the Zune music experience where one can play their music collection, synced wirelessly from their PC, or stream or download new tunes from Windows Marketplace.

6. Marketplace (for downloading new apps)

7. Social space; integrated with popular social networks like Facebook

8. Office.

Microsoft is planning to add new features like Netflix, Twitter, Slacker, OpenTable, eBay, IMDB and Flixster at the launch or shortly after the launch of Window Phone 7 in November.In general, Windows Phone 7 has been uniquely designed to delivers a clean, intuitive, friendly (and heavily Zune-based) touch UI with a grid of “live” tiles (app selector) for your latest messages, your most-used contacts, the Web and your favorite apps.

Unlike the common smartphones like iPhone and Android with requires a user to tap on an application to see new information, Microsoft phone 7 has been designed to tell the user at a glance about important new information, such as e-mail and Facebook status update setting a new era in networking.

According to Steve Ballmer, the Window phone 7 will be offered by 60 mobile operators in over 30 countries located in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Microsoft is planning to release over 10 brands with Window phone 7 in holidays (November) in collaboration with the top mobile operators. Among these, HTC Surround, Samsung Focus, LG Quantum, HTC HD7, Dell Venue Pro, HTC 7 Surround, LG Optimus 7, Samsung OMNIA 7, HTC 7 Trophy, LG Optimus 7Q will produced by AT&T, T-Mobile, TELUS, America Movil, O2, Orange, SFR, Movistar, Deutsche Telekom AG, Vodafone, SingTel and Telstra.

In addition to these features, WP7 powered phones will come with a 1GHz Snapdragon handset with a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 5-megapixel camera like for Samsung Focus, 16GB of on-board storage and a 1GHz Snapdragon processor for HTC Surround, a slide-out QWERTY keypad, 16GB of internal storage and DLNA support for sharing media with local, DLNA-compatible PCs, HDTVs for LG Quantum and a 5-megapixel auto-focus camera with a dual-LED flash and HD video recording for HTC HD7.

A six-month review of your new financial planning investment services program is an essential element in its long-term success. A quick discussion at the partner meeting will not get at the real issues. The review needs to be a serious project with a commitment to address any issues discovered.

Many firms have asked how we do it and what should we look for. The following is a breakdown of some of the key issues to review and test.

• Is everyone on board? Have all partners and associates been introduced to the program? At this point, at least 75% of the likely partners and associates should have made at least four to 10 referrals and have several customers engaged in the financial planning process. Take an accurate measure of where the referrals are coming from and where they are not; ask the appropriate questions of those with either high or low participation. There may be a need for more – or better – internal communication.

• Are you mining your whole client base or just looking for diamonds on the surface? You should have contacted all of your clients in writing to let them know about the new services and suggested a time to talk about starting a plan. By the six-month mark, you need to be following up with most of your “A” clients and prospects who look like potential “A” clients. In the first six months, about 75% of your time dedicated to the new efforts should be spent on getting started with “A” clients.

• How does revenue look? The annual goal of a 10% increase in gross billings cannot be divided by two and used as a measure for the six-month review. The startup phase of the program requires time to build momentum, and effort now will pay off in the second half of the year. You should, however, start to see some increases in the first billing total of, say 2% to 3%. Look at the mix of the billings; if all of it is fee-generated (e.g. asset management) and none of it is from product sales, you will fall below the 10% target and you will have to adjust the mix to stay on target. The number of complete financial plans will have a direct correlation with revenues. Part of the implementation plan should have included a per-partner target for the number of plans. Now is the time to compile a report of client plans completed by partner and compare it to the goal.

• Is the leader still leading? The managing partner/partner that either assumed or was given “ownership” of the program should by now be clearly owning and leading. He or she should be managing the cultural fit and making the necessary changes to ease the integration. This person should be reporting and/or posting results and should make the program a focus at appropriate partner meetings. It’s important at this point to evaluate the role and responsibility of the person in this role: What have they done? Do they need help?

These are real issues and need to be addressed early and often for the program to succeed and should be the focus of every firm’s six-month review.

When it comes to home improvement, window replacement is often thought of last, especially with projects like remodeling a kitchen, bathroom or putting in hardwood flooring. Homeowners may not think about the added value new windows can provide as well as the savings incurred on those high heating and cooling bills. Some advantages might not be obvious, but they are clearly felt in the pocketbook.

The best part is that energy efficient windows don’t just save energy and money; they also help better the environment. By conserving energy, you help reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to smog, acid rain and global warming.

Facts about Window Replacements

Here are some important things to consider: how old is your home? Are your windows the original windows?

Windows will age with time, and as the years roll by, you may begin to notice the obvious changes. Your windows may appear outdated or worn. Wood windows may show signs of rotting, warping, or become termite infested. Vinyl can begin to peel. Cranks in the old casement windows may not work. Over time, these changes can become very visible.

If you notice any deterioration you may want to contact a professional window contractor to inspect your windows and make suggestions about repair or replacement.

Replacing Your Windows Can Lower Costs and Save Money

Saving money is a priority for most homeowners. As rising energy costs hit our pocketbooks harder and harder each year, energy saving home improvements make good sense. Replacement windows can save you money monthly by reducing your energy consumption and lowering those heating and cooling bills. Making your home more energy efficient also boosts your home’s resale value. Always ask about the warranty on your replacement windows. A transferable warranty (one that can be transferred to a new owner) is best.

New Replacement Windows Add Beauty to Your Home

It’s easy to overlook the advantages of new windows. New windows can add value to your home and change the look of your home’s exterior adding beauty and curb appeal. New windows will make your home look brighter inside and out. Today’s windows come in a variety of colors and styles to coordinate with your home’s existing color scheme. A wide variety of interior and exterior frame colors can help create that look you want, reflecting your personal style. With all the new styles and types of windows available on the market today, just about anything is possible!

New Replacement Windows Do More Than Save Money

Once you decide to replace those old windows in your home, it pays to research window options carefully. Much has changed over the years in replacement window technology. Fortunately, many manufacturers now offer high quality, energy efficient replacement windows.

Replacing old windows with today’s more energy efficient models is an investment that should pay off in the long run by lowering your energy costs, and increasing the value of your home. Replacement windows can provide you and your family with security as the newer windows are manufactured with security features, they can be easier to clean and provide a sound barrier to aid in noise control to keep those unwanted noises out.

Window Contractors Can Help You Make the Best Decisions

Hiring a qualified, professionally licensed, window contractor can help homeowners make the best decisions when it comes to choosing new window replacements. They can help you with any questions you may have, and provide an estimate. They can help take the worry and confusion out of replacing those old windows.