Lindsay Windows?
Has anyone had any experience with these windows? They seem very solid and have great efficiency ratings depending on the type. The prices so far are about 1/2 of what I’ve been quoted from Intus, and slightly cheaper than Softlites. They are on par with Anderson 400 series prices.
My wife found they have a local manufacturing facility and I went over to check them out. I was very very impressed with the quality, craftsmanship, and how extremely nice the office staff there were. They let me bring the Pinnacle and Health models home to allow my wife to see them since she was not available due to work. They even offered to stay later if she wanted to come by the plant. I was honestly blown away. They even showed me around the manufacturing area. When my wife initially called to inquire, no one was available to answer the phone, so the owner answered personally and answered all of her questions.
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Replies
Michael,
They look like vinyl windows. I'm having trouble finding any information on the company's web site about U-factors, SHGC numbers, or triple glazing.
[Later edit: It turns out that the company does make triple-glazed windows, and that there is information on U-factors and SHGC numbers -- it's just that the information is hard to find.]
Martin,
They do indeed offer triple pane windows with U Values in the sub 0.2 range. I received these values with my quotes.
Michael,
Thanks for the info -- my mistake. The information is there -- just hard to find.
I've gotten quotes for the dual pane all the way up to the triple pane with krypton to this point. for two sliding doors, 2 sliding windows (36x72 and 72 x 60 twin), 4 fixed pane trapezoids. I have also ordered four large 4'x6' picture windows, but these were too large for the triple pane or the krypton. Overall, the cost for the triple pane with krypton for all of these windows was under $10k.
I will be ordering 4 more of the 72x60 twins and a smaller window for a bathroom. Overall most of the windows are a U of .19 SHGC of .2 and air leakage at .15 cfm/ft^2.
The other line they offered was definitely a bit more expensive, but the air leakage rates and U values didn't justify the cost to me. The main difference that I could see was the hardware and a few extra seals on the sill.
Michael, are you ordering any southern exposure windows with high solar gain? The tables above all show low SHGC.
For better or worse, I went with Alpen windows out of Longmont, Colo. Insulated fiberglass frames. Double pane with suspended film that works like 3rd pane. Jury is still out on longevity of film. U factor is .15 for the best grade casement window to .16 for lesser grade. SHGC .43 on southern casements.
Michael, do you know if there is a direct correlation between U factor and window's center of glass R value? I notice that window performance stickers don't list R value but website brochures do.
Randy,
There is a direct correlation between U-factors and R-values. Here it is:
R=1/U
U=1/R
If you are talking about windows, you can talk about a window's center-of-glass U-factor. You can also talk about a window's center-of-glass R-value.
The most common way to compare windows in the U.S. is the whole-window U-factor. (That's the number on the NFRC sticker.) But you can also calculate a whole-window R-value if you want.
Window manufacturers love to talk about center-of-glass numbers, because these numbers usually look better than whole-window numbers.
Randy,
Unfortunately Alpen was not able to make some of the custom sized windows that I needed. As Martin stated, yes there is definitely a correlation between U-value and R-value. Also to my knowledge the values I received are the NFRC ratings.
The SHGC was initially a concern of mine as the house was/is technically sold to me as passive solar. I plan on not quite taking full advantage of this in the near future. Once I completed my room loss values with our new insulation and addition, it seems my wood stove enough will be 1.5 times what I should need to heat the house. Due to the fact that we use wood to heat the house mostly, I figured there would be much more savings by rejecting the heat in the summer when my bills are 2-3 times what my winter electric bills are (all electric home).
Another plus for these windows for me was the lifetime warranty, including spacers, and the fact I was able to order triple panes with krypton for the whole house for $2k more than the cost of dual pane windows for just the rear of my home (2 part project).