Impacting Utility Bills with Energy Efficient Windows
Here in Clintonville, Columbus (Ohio), a resident and home owner named Patrick has wisely decided to replace the single-pane and rickety windows of his 1929 house with energy efficient, vinyl windows.
In his lengthy and extensive research, he considered four well-established and reputable companies: Rosati, Alside, SoftLite and Joyce. Patrick can be considered a “green” consumer because he understands the environmental importance of supporting local businesses. He gets his groceries from the Clintonville Farmers’ Market every Saturday morning, so it wasn’t a stretch when he looked up local contractors that install windows manufactured in Ohio.
As it turns out, all except Alside windows are manufactured in the Buckeye State. In environmentally friendly terms, all these companies offer the incentive of tax credit towards the purchase of new windows.
Despite carrying different brand names, the windows all come energy star rated, which means that it makes a house “green” by significantly reducing energy wastage.
Even for people who refuse to believe that global warming is real, it cannot be denied that in this economic climate, savings in gas and electric bills become a real boon for those on a fixed income.
Even without the gloom of an economic downturn, inflation and the rise in cost of living take place with each passing year, so saving money by making a house more energy efficient makes perfect sense and appeals to those who are able and willing to increasing the value of their homes by making energy efficient home improvements.
Of all four window manufacturers, Alside’s website most prominently displays and promotes the earth friendly features of their windows. The company clearly states: “A study conducted by Franklin Associates found that using vinyl over alternative framing options saves the U.S. nearly 2 trillion BTUs of energy per year - enough to meet the yearly electrical needs of 20,000 single-family homes.”
Other informative “green” facts include: “Vinyl can be reprocessed and recycled repeatedly. Scrap is routinely recycled into other vinyl products. In fact, 99% of the vinyl used by processors goes into a finished product” and “More than 8 million pounds of window profile waste is diverted from landfills annually thanks to successful buy-back programs initiated by window manufacturers like Alside.”
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