As the day gets hotter, our energy bills seem to increase as if they are being propelled by a mysterious force. The globe knows of how important it is to conserve energy at the slightest of chances.

For those living in hot environments, you don’t have to tell them, they are quite sure of where most of the heat in their house is coming from, and it is no other place than their windows. While it is cool to have the opportunity to glance at the outside world from the comfort of your home, by letting excess sunlight in, we have to handle the side effects of heat and UV ray damage.

The inspiration to produce a window that helps protect us from the harmful effects of the sun was a natural evolution. Like several engineering evolutions, it has improved with time. Energy-efficient windows, as they are called, are a very vital consideration for both new and existing homes. These windows are similar to our normal windows. But, the biggest benefit of these windows is that they help slash our energy bills.

Heat gain and loss via windows are the cause of 25% to 30% of residential heating and cooling energy use. If you are choosing windows for a new building or you are carrying out window replacement, you must go for energy-efficient windows.

In understanding these windows better, let us take a brief look at what they do:

1. They reflect the sun away from your house

Most energy-efficient windows are treated with low emissivity coatings (popularly known as low-E). These coatings are known to reflect the sun away from your home, thus restricting a fair amount of heat from penetrating your home. Energy-efficient glasses can absorb less than 35% of heat rays from the sun, while normal glass can absorb about 84%. The coatings on energy-efficient glasses help retain heat in your house when the surrounding environment is cold, and it helps keep the heat outside when hot, thereby reducing your electric bills. These coatings are all transparent and do not block your view or change the natural sunlight that penetrates them.

2. They can enhance the thermal performance of your home

The manufacturers of energy-efficient windows make use of inert gases like argon or krypton, to great benefit. These gasses are infused in between two gas panes to act as an impediment between your home and the elements outside your home. The mentioned gases can also enhance the thermal level of energy-efficient glasses, thus providing your home with that optimum ambiance.

3. They protect your belongings

Lots of homeowners do not know that over time, sun emanating from windows can cause damage to the rugs, wood, fabric, including the furniture in their home. Energy-efficient windows have glass coatings that restrict the UV rays of the sun, thereby providing adequate protection to the items in your home.

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