Giving your windows a thorough spring cleaning is a good way to spruce up your home’s exterior and enhance its curb appeal. Having squeaky-clean, shiny panes boosts the aesthetic, but to improve your home’s overall energy efficiency and aid HVAC performance, it’s important to tackle window maintenance as well.
How Your Windows Impact Energy Efficiency
According to the Department of Energy, heat gains and losses through the windows can account for 25-30 percent of a home’s HVAC-related energy usage. You can curb this energy waste by cleaning and maintaining your windows. Improving your windows’ energy efficiency also helps lower the HVAC equipment’s workload, which improves its performance and helps prolong its lifespan.
Ways to Improve Window Efficiency
When you complete your usual spring window cleaning, you can take one or more of these measures to improve their energy efficiency:
- Before shining and polishing the glass, inspect each window thoroughly to check for areas of cracked/missing caulking or damaged weatherstripping. Remove any damaged material first, then replace it with new caulk or weatherstripping.
- If your older windows are leaking air badly, it may be time to update them with new, energy-efficient versions. Purchasing plexiglass or acrylic interior inserts is a cost-saving alternative. These “storm windows” are built to fit tightly to curb air leakage.
- If your home has casement or double-hung windows, pay special attention to all the moving parts and tracks during cleaning. You need to get rid of any accumulated debris in these areas, so the windows close snugly and don’t leak air.
- Revamp your decor with insulated window blinds or curtains that you can close to reduce heat gain on hot summer days. Insulated window treatments can improve your home’s energy efficiency year round, because they’ll also limit heat loss through the glass in the winter.
- Put window cleaning on your fall chore list as well, because clean panes will let more of the sun’s heat in to warm your home when the weather turns cold.
To learn more effective ways to improve the energy efficiency of your Indianapolis home, contact us at Mowery Heating, Cooling and Plumbing.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Brownsburg, Indiana and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
