Energy efficient windows/doors
Fruitcake295
| Posted in Energy Efficiency and Durability on
We will be in the starting to build our energy efficient home in the next few months. We’ve been talking with Intus, Klearwall and Hoco to see which window/doors would be the best for us. Is there a good American window (triple pane) that we should also be considering? Which one of these manufactures….. Jeld-wen, Marvin or Pella would give us the best quality in windows.
Thanks, William
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Check out Alpen in Boulder CO
If you are nearing a start date for an energy efficient home, you should already understand how your windows function as part of your home's total performance (percent of glassing to floor area, shading, understanding glass coatings for "tuning" the glazing according to orientation, etc).
Not sure about lead times for American manufacturers, but there likely is a longer wait for European windows. If planned correctly, timing will not be a problem. If not, your contractor may be idle after framing the house while waiting for windows to arrive. If that's the case, you should have the framers wait to cut out the rough openings for windows and doors and do a blower door test to evaluate your air barrier check for air leakage.
Finally, I don't know your location (and thus climate zone) but I have had a favorable experience with YARO-DSI windows in Cambridge, MA. Their triple glazed, tilt-turn windows are great value for the performance.
Just an owner and first time GC of an energy efficient home under construction here in NH. But what we found after months of research is that while there are tons of window companies, you really need to narrow down your choices based on budget, dealer availability, and specs.
We wanted at least Energy Star rated, but preferably triple glazed (or similar spec). Our budget was tight and we felt it was good to have a local/regional dealer with good support.
We considered Intus, but were concerned the longer lead time wouldn't work for us (turns out it could have worked).
That brought our choice to fiberglass windows from either Marvin Integrity or Alpen. We decided on the Alpen 525 series because we thought the slightly higher cost would be worth the performance benefits....and they have a good dealer a couple hours away.
While our windows are still stored in our current rental and waiting to be installed, we are happy with our decision.
Brian,
I'm currently in the process of getting my windows from Intus. I'm not sure what lead time they quoted you but the contract says 14 weeks or longer. My windows will come at the 15 week mark. Unless you can afford that I would not recommend that to anyone. He sales guy had spec'd the wrong window to me so I had to sign an addendum to the contract several weeks after the initial contract was signed. The addendum talked about manufacturing delays if I didn't sign and return immediately. What it didn't say was now I was placed back at the beginning queue as I had placed my order then. I am now at a stand still on my project. Others have probably received their windows and doors in a timely manor but always expect that it will take the longest time on the contract and not what the sales guy assures you will be the timing.