Low e has the ability to keep the temperature of the surface of the glass facing the interior very near that of the room itself regardless of outside temperatures.
Dual pane low e windows.
Energy efficient windows use two or three panes of glass to slow conduction and maintain comfort.
It requires a sheet of glass as a base material for its application.
When first invented in the 80s low e windows only came in one variety for one purpose.
This triple pane glass is filled with two layers of argon or krypton gas as well as two layers of soft coat low e.
Expect the cost for double pane wood windows to be in the range of 350 to 800 on the high end.
In other words this sheet can effectively turn a double pane into a triple pane and this insulation can be further supplemented with the addition of inert argon gas for even more r value.
Low e windows are a good investment in the midwest or east coast but in the southwest the best cost for the money is a good dual pane with at least a 1 2 air space install a high quality solar control film with a high total solar rejection and it is possible to reject as much as 80 of the heat gain it also helps keep the heat in in the winter.
The windows are usually single pane but can be installed double pane at a higher cost per window.
Low e squared glass can keep the inside glass temperature within 1 f of a room with no windows.
How much do double pane windows cost.
How does it heat the home.
Now that you know whether you have low e windows or not you can consider the window film solutions that may or may not be a good fit for your application.
The term double pane refers to a window that has two pieces of glass while low e is a coating technique.
You can have glass with or without a low e coating.
In many cases windows in northern colder climates will have low e applied to surface 3 to prevent the heat on the inside from escaping out in the winter.
The biggest drawback of low e windows is primarily cosmetic.
On the other hand soft coat low e windows must be in a double pane unit and are nearly invisible coatings which provide more visible light.
No matter what type of low e windows you get they will perform better.
A virtually invisible low e coating is applied to the glass to help reflect heat and keep your home comfortable.
To keep in the infrared light.
Soft coat windows have much better u value than hard coat surfaces and allow less uv transmittance by almost 75 over clear glass.
Double pane windows can be clear tinted or have a low e coating.
This is but a small sampling of how specific the new generation low e coatings can get.
The average labor cost to install a double hung or double pane window is between 150 to 350 with a national average of 250 per 3 x5 vinyl window.
Choose to add optional argon gas between the panes to act like an insulating blanket and reduce heat transfer.