New Windows: Part 2

And here they are!  I can’t wait to paint them.  Or take the sticker off of the bathroom window.  You know how that goes…just haven’t had a chance to get the gooey stuff off yet!  But the sticker has some useful info:  We purchased them from our local Ace Hardware and the brand is MI Windows and Doors (the company is in Pennsylvania).  They are Energy Star Qualified in all U.S. zones.  They are vinyl windows, double paned low-e glass.  It lists the energy performance ratings, beginning with the U-Factor, which is 0.34.  The Solar Heat Gain Coefficient is 0.31, and the Visible Transmittance is 0.59.  The +DP is 30.0 and the -DP is 30.0.  What does this all mean?  If you click over to EnergySavers.gov you can find out all of this handy information.

The U-Factor is the rate at which a window, door or skylight conducts non-solar heat flow.  The lower the U-Factor, the more energy efficient the window (ours is 0.34, which is pretty low).

The solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) is the fraction of solar radiation admitted through a window, door or skylight.  The lower the SHGC, the less solar heat it transmits and the greater its shading ability.  This means that it won’t fade your furniture.  Ours is 0.31.

Visible transmittance is a fraction of the visible spectrum of sunlight (380 to 720 nanometers), weighted by the sensitivity of the human eye, that is transmitted through a window’s, door’s, or skylight’s glazing. A product with a higher VT transmits more visible light. VT is expressed as a number between 0 and 1.  Ours is 0.59, so it transmits more than half of the visible light through the window.

DP stands for design pressure and are rated by testing the window to pressures equal to 1.5 times the DP requirement. So if a window is rated to DP40, then it is tested to 60psf. If a window is rated to DP20, then it is tested to 30psf.  Ours are rated DP30, so they are tested to 45psf.  Design pressure actually applies to wind speed, and a DP15 can withstand wind speeds up to 95 mph, so I think that DP30 is pretty good!  {Info. via replacement-windows.com}

The brand new pine trim is very pretty, but we can’t wait to get painting! Check back with me next week to see how our painting went over the weekend…or how it didn’t go. Have a wonderful Friday and a great weekend! xo, L.

{Info. via EnergySavers.gov and Replacement-Windows.com}