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Once you have decided to start shopping for the perfect Utah replacement windows for your home, you will be confronted with a wide variety of styles and options to choose from. Understanding the terminology and key features of the different types of replacement windows you can buy will help you in your search and lead you to the windows that are right for you. The first term you will need to know is IGU (insulated glass unit). Most of the Utah replacement windows you look at while shopping will have several layers of glass. There are usually only two layers, but some brands may have three or even four layers in them. In between each layer of glass is a layer of dead air space which helps reduce the flow of heat through the window. At the edge of these panes of glass there is spacer which holds it all together. IGU is the term used to describe this package of glass panes, spacers and glass coatings. Low-e Glass is another term you should be familiar with before you start shopping for Utah replacement windows. Low-e is short for low emittance, meaning one or more of the panes of glass in the window is coated with metal oxide or metal. You most likely won’t be able to see this coating because it is extremely thin, but you might notice a slight tint to the window compared to windows without the coating. Low-e Glass windows work by reflecting heat back off the glass. This process is fairly simple, but you will need to know which way you want the heat to be reflected before you install them on your home. For example, if you live in a very hot climate, you will want your Low-e Glass windows to keep the heat outdoors. You want the heat of the sun to be immediately reflected off the outside of the windows. If you live in a very cold climate, you will want to keep heat from escaping your home. You want the sun to shine through your windows and bring all the heat with it. Then you want the window to keep the heat in by reflecting it back inside your home. For hot climates, you would want to use what is called low solar grain Low-e Glass, which helps keep the inside of your home cool by keeping the sun’s heat out. For cold climates, you would want to use high solar gain Low-e Glass, which does the exact opposite. There are some window manufacturers out there that claim that their windows can do both. These windows have a coating on them that are called spectrally selective. They keep heat out during the summer and let the sun's heat in during the winter. Low-e Glass is usually the most inexpensive option for Utah replacement windows. Discuss options with your contractor or installer to make sure you get the right Low-e Glass windows for your climate. Another term to know is Argon Filled. Argon is an inert gas that has been used in windows for a long time because it is cheap, safe and significantly increases the insulation value of a multi-pane window. Manufacturers replace the dead air between window panes with this argon gas for better insulation. Argon is heavier than air and allows less heat loss through the window. The last important term to get familiar with is Krypton Filled. Just like argon, krypton is an inert gas that is sometimes used in place of air between glass panes in replacement windows. Krypton works better than argon, but it is also a lot more expensive. Most people think the increased performance of krypton just isn’t worth the increased price. However, if you prefer to have very thin windows on your home, you will need to use krypton because it is lighter than argon. These two gases can even be mixed together to balance out the performance and cost. For most people, the best combination for replacement windows is double glazed IGUs, argon filled, with low-e glass optimized for climatic conditions.
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