How To: Choose Windows For Your Home

Each year, home owners up and down the country look to make changes to their homes.

Whether that be a new kitchen, redecorating a bedroom or fitting new windows. There’s an array of different things that can be done. Hell, some people may go all out and buy a new conservatory for their home.

If you’re looking to make some changes to your house this summer, why not consider having some new windows fitted? With the price of our energy bills constantly on the rise, it would be wise to look for the most energy efficient windows on the market.

Aside from that, we’ve got a short “How To” on selecting your new windows. Here goes…

Choosing Your Texture

This is entirely dependent on whether or not you want a product which will require upkeep or not. There’s a choice of wood and PVC, both of which has its pros and cons. If you want something that is maintenance free then PVC is the one for you.

If you’d like something that you can stain and match it to the décor in your home then wood is where you want to be looking. Although it requires much more maintenance than PVC, it’s much more customisable.

So, with this one, it’s entirely down to preference.

The Glass

Probably the most important part of your window, for obvious reasons. There’s a number of different kinds of glass that you can choose from when it comes to choosing your windows.

If you’re not too keen on having really, really hot rooms in the summer when it starts to get warm and sunny then there’s kinds of glass that you can have fitted that will stop the heat from entering into your rooms.

• Single Glazing

Of course, there’s single glazing which is, generally speaking, the cheapest option but it’s also the least energy efficient option as it’s only one piece of glass protecting you from the elements and it also lets a lot of heat escape and also more cold air to get in.

They also add to your household utility bills as you’re going to have to heat your house for longer to keep the rooms warmer for longer.

• Double Glazing

Double glazing windows are probably the most popular type of windows in the country. The appeal of having double glazing windows is that they reduce heat loss in your home and they provide noise insulation and they also do a good job of limiting window condensation.

They work by forming an insulated barrier of trapped air between two panes of glass.

• Pros
  • Installing double glazing is an eco-friendly choice. Fitting there could save you 720kg of CO2 each year and this equals money saved on your bills!
  • Fitting double glazing in your home also provides you with noise insulation.
  • If you’ve got double glazing fitted in your house, it could cut heat loss by around half and save you up to £140 on your heating bills annually.
• Cons
  • There’s only one and that’s the price. If you’re planning on fitting double glazed windows in the whole of your house, it can be quite expensive as it costs around £200 for a standard, double glazed window.
  • Energy Efficient Windows

You probably think that double glazed windows are pretty energy efficient. Well, yeah they are but there are more energy efficient windows, surprisingly called energy efficient windows.

What makes these more energy efficient is that they have an invisible sheet of metal in between the glass panes, making the glass more heat reflective. This helps to keep homes cool in the summer and warmer in the winter.

• Pros
  • Energy efficient windows can be made using any frame material. Whether it’s steel, timber, aluminium or PVC-U you can have your windows made from any, or even a combination of these materials.
  • If you switch your windows over to energy efficient windows, you could reduce your energy bills by as much as 18% a year.
• Cons
  • Expense, again! Yes, energy efficient windows are expensive. You should expect to pay around £800 for a standard, energy efficient window.

Exterior Colour Options

Depending on what kind of window you opt for, you may be given a choice of outdoor colours for your window frames.

This is great way to add a bit of colour and character to the outside of your house. When deciding on an overall exterior colour scheme, it would be a good idea to use a colour palette choosing three different colours (one main colour and two accents) rather than two.

These can then be applied to the exterior of your home (main colour), then the window trim (first accent colour), and finally, any exterior accessories (second accent colour).

To Conclude

So, with our helpful tips, you should be in a better place to choose the best possible windows for your house.

If you want to check out our range of windows, from sash windows to energy rated windows, we’ve got a wide range for you to choose from.