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When it comes to wasting energy, it's a fact that most of the heat that disappears out of your home does so through the windows. Most cheap windows have poor seals that lead to drafts and heat loss. This leads to you turning up the heating to compensate which in turn leads to higher energy bills and, topically, you're not helping the environment either. Of course, fitting new energy-efficient windows is a great idea, but it's going to be pretty expensive, right? Well, not necessarily. There are government tax breaks to consider and the ultimate saving in your heating bills. The United States' Federal Government thinks so, and is offering homeowners a tax credit of ten percent of energy-saving windows' purchase price (up to $500 per year). This is a tax credit, not a deduction. So, if you purchase and install a $1000 patio door that is "Energy Star" rated or has a Manufacturer's Certification Statement, you can reduce your tax bill for the year by $100, and your patio door's effective cost is only $900. This tax credit is known as the "Existing Home Tax Credit for Fenestration", and is good for windows installed between December 31, 2005 and January 1, 2008. The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) rates windows' energy-saving capabilities. They use two measures to rate windows: the U-factor shows how well the window keeps heat in your house (the lower this number, the better); and the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient shows how well the window keeps your house cool (again, the lower the better). You will need to save the NFRC stickers that come with your windows, along with your purchase receipt, in order to qualify for the tax credit. Any other pertinent documentation can only help. Here are some pointers to help you determine which energy-efficient doors and windows would be worth purchasing. First, most insulating windows are made with two, or sometimes three, panes of glass. The manufacturer often fills the space between the panes with an insulating inert gas such as argon or krypton. There's also a film or reflective metal coating that manufacturers can put on the glass which helps to achieve lower U-Factor ratings. Some treatments of this sort can even help to filter out damaging UV radiation. It's a good idea if you are installing a west-facing window to attempt to obtain glass that has a really low Solar Heat Gain Coefficient. This is useful because rooms with west-facing windows often have overheating problems in the afternoons. Your dealer should be able to help you with this. All good windows have a very tight seal that should be easily apparent when you try to open and close them when checking them out in the showroom. It's a good idea to give this a very good tryout. If you take the time to do a comparison across the cheap to very expensive windows on offer to you, you'll very quickly learn how to work out which have poor seals. Any poorly sealed window will be very energy inefficient, the very opposite of what you're looking for. It may be cheaper now but it'll surely cost you in the longrun. When you factor in the Government tax break and assume a minimum saving of ten per cent on your current heating bills, can you really afford not to replace your old, non-energy-efficient windows?
Article Source: http://www.energyefficienthomearticles.com
If you're looking for some energy conservation in the home advice then Graham Tasker, the Webmaster of Green Home Website at www.greenhome.no1-source.com has plenty that you'll find interesting and informative. This article is available as a unique content article with free reprint rights.
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