With billions and billions of dollars roaming through the country, you’d think that snagging a dollar wouldn’t actually be that hard. Though sometimes, it’s harder than finding a diamond in the rough. This makes it doubly important to find ways to save your hard earned cash. This can be done with windows, but how much exactly?
Conserving Energy
Remember when your mother used to tell you to turn out the lights when you leave a room? Well, you can do one better. Replacing windows, according to Energy Star, will save you at least $27 per year. Before you go opening up a trust fund, understand that this is the low limit. They also state that you can save $126-465 per year if you have single pane windows. Double pane windows will save you around $111 dollars per year. Money magazine quotes a 10-25% savings on your energy bill with new windows.
The Government, Your Friend
If your government hasn’t done a heck of a lot for you lately, you can trust that there might be energy savings grants out there to be had. Most of these grants will reimburse you when the project is finished.
Costs and Benefits
If you get the government to pay for your windows, the savings are already there. If you pay for replacement windows yourself, you’ll have to work out exactly what it’s going to cost you and how long it will take for you to see the savings.
New windows can cost anywhere from $150 to $1,000 while the labour to replace them will typically run you around the same amount.
Choose Wisely
The more you do to get an energy efficient home at a lower cost, the more you are going to save. Your mother was right when she told you to turn off the lights when you leave. Same goes for all the windows in your house. Damaged or open windows equal a smaller wallet.
A Trusted Company?
Instead of believing all the high numbers that different companies are going to tell you when you walk into their stores, ask friends, neighbors or relatives about the kind of savings they have actually experienced by replacing their windows. They will be more inclined to give you an honest appraisal of their experience than anyone else.
Do all the math before you replace anything. Having a plan of action and knowing exactly the kind of consequences that plan will reap is going to help you decide if there are actual savings to be had.
