ENERGY STAR certified storm windows are an affordable option for homes where full window replacement may be difficult, such as lower-income households, low-rise multi-family households, households working with HUD or weatherization programs, or households in historic preservation districts.
ENERGY STAR certified storm windows use “low emissivity” or low-e glass to improve the energy performance of your home compared to clear glass storm windows. ENERGY STAR certified storm windows are designed to allow the right amount of solar heat through your windows to keep your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and help you save on energy bills.
How much can I save with ENERGY STAR Storm Windows?
EPA estimates that on a national average, ENERGY STAR certified (low-e) storm windows can save homeowners about 20% on their annual heating and cooling bills when installed over single-pane clear glass windows (without existing storm windows). You can expect to pay back the incremental cost of the ENERGY STAR certified storm windows in about three (3) years.
Consumers who already have clear glass storm windows over their single pane windows and replace the storms with ENERGY STAR certified (low-e) storm windows can save an additional $50 per year on heating and cooling (about 2%) on a national average.
Additional Benefits of Modern Storm Windows:
- Can be installed on the interior or exterior of an existing window.
- Cost ½ to ¼ the amount of common replacement windows with much lower cost installation. They can also be Do-It-Yourself installed without training in a few minutes to save even more money.
- Come in both fixed and operable (open and close) options and with insect screens.
- Come in a variety of colors to match your home.
- Can be purchased conveniently at many home improvement stores and can be specialty manufactured to perfectly fit to your current windows.
- External storm windows are designed with weep holes to manage moisture while also controlling air leakage.
- ENERGY STAR certified storm windows have high-gain low-e coatings for Northern climates to optimize solar gain when it is cold. ENERGY STAR storm windows for Southern climates are designed to block solar gain because they are low-gain, low-e, which helps to lower air conditioning costs.