Impact glass isn’t only a general term used by industry insiders to promote their products and increase their sales. This form of glass has prevented homes from being severely damaged by storms, and it keeps the unwanted particles outside where it belongs.
Impact windows and doors can also manage your home’s temperature and even lower your energy expenses, not to mention the potential tax savings and lower homeowners insurance premiums you can get.
Let’s take a look at how impact glass can help you save money on your energy bills and make your home more energy-efficient.
Impact Glass: An Overview
There are certain things you need to know about impact glass in order to understand how it can help you save money on your energy expenses.
- Impact glass is generally referred to as laminated. It has a layer of tough plastic (PVB) sandwiched between two pieces of glass that are fused together via lamination, which is a process in which pressure and heat combine to make a stronger and more durable glass structure.
- Impact-resistant windows offer protection to homes by combining high-strength frames with impact-resistant laminated glass, plus a special silicone glazing process to prevent the glass from falling out of its frame. The impact-resistant glass consists of two panels of glass bonded together with a special intermediate layer of transparent polyvinyl butyral.
- While wind-borne debris or an attempted penetration can break the glass upon impact, the interlayer keeps the window and door in general intact, preventing destructive winds from penetrating your home.
- To comply with hurricane-prone areas that have certain construction code requirements, the interlayer can also be built using a stronger or thicker mixture.
How Impact Glass Can Help You Save Money on Your Energy Bills
Impact glass isn’t just for high-velocity hurricane zones; it may also help you save money on your energy costs by reflecting heat and adjusting the temperature in your home.
Furthermore, installing windows and doors of impact glass at your place may qualify you for tax deductions based on the Energy Star rating!
Some homeowners go even further and add glass treatments to their impact glass, such as tinted shades or low-E coatings, which help insulate your home and lower your energy expenditures.
The double layering of glass and reinforced window framing of impact windows earn them better ratings. They are made of hard-to-break tempered and laminated glass. During the winter, the double-layered glass keeps the frigid air out. On hot summer days, impact windows can help to keep the heat out. You might require to run your air conditioner, you will be able to turn it off for extended periods of time while still maintaining the level of comfort you require in your home.
Impact windows outperform their counterparts in terms of energy efficiency. In all types of climates, they can reduce annual energy bills. The cost of these windows may appear to be high, they are well worth the investment.
Maximize the Use of Impact Windows and Doors
If you want to increase the energy efficiency of your home, a solar heat gains coefficient rating will help you measure the quantity of solar radiation going through the windows and doors and into the house. A lower score indicates that the glass is able to prevent solar energy from entering the home.
During hurricane season, your home’s draughty, leaky windows are inefficient and unsafe. The performance of high-quality double-pane impact windows cannot be compared to that of single-layered windows.
Poor installation, deteriorated seals, single-pane design, and worn frames are all common reasons for draughty windows. Changing to energy-efficient impact glasses is the greatest answer for these issues. The best energy-efficient windows for you are determined by your demands and where you live. Some frame styles, insulation options, and glazing options, for example, can work in a better way for some houses than the rest.
Energy-efficient windows are built to insulate your home better than ordinary windows, avoiding air leakage. If you reside in a hurricane-prone area, impact windows and doors should be installed.