tim-from-pa
Member
- Aug 4, 2005
- 4,716
- 435
As most of you know, I have a personal vendetta against Microsoft Windows. But.... this thread is not about computer windows. This gripe and new vendetta is against house windows, specifically Anderson. Those "renewal" guys you get sick and tired of hearing about on the radio DON'T believe in passive solar gain, like my house has and was built to have. When I had the a rep here to consider replacement windows, they talked about the low "U-factor" to help keep the cold out in the winter and heat out in the summer. Great. But I asked, "Are you familiar with 'solar heat gain coefficient' or SHGC?" "Yes, what about it?" I want that number HIGH so that I have a lot of solar gain in the winter as I love lots of sun, it keeps my furnace off, saves energy and my wife likes it warm in here (e.g. 80 degrees F).
That dork clicker as much as tapped his finger on the table saying why I DID NOT want the sun in here and that doing so would make my energy bills higher, especially in the summer when the sun would heat up the place and the AC would fight it -- my wife said AC is not an issue because she likes it warm, and only to keep the humidity out and we set it at 77F several degrees higher than most people (and windows can be opened on breezy summer days instead of the AC.)
Conversation was braking down fast and my temper was flaring as I told him he was flat out wrong and I turned to my wife and asked her, "Should I bet our entire retirement account that this guy is wrong double or nothing? I want to retire early!" As with most windows people, they just look at the insulating factor like it's an opaque wall and don't consider the sun, except in a negative way the way the medical establishment says it "gives you cancer". The truth is, in the summer, the sun angle is LOWER relative to the vertical plane of the glass (solar window winter) and only 1/3 of the light gets in, not to mention my overhangs. Plus there's shades, awnings, etc that can easily keep sunlight out in the summer but once you tint glass to keep sun out, you can't ever let it in.
Long story short, I ordered Pella "natural sun" (high SHGC, but low U) designed for passive solar gain and love them so far, and at the fraction of the cost (I'm expecting even BIGGER oil/electric savings this winter). In the meantime my mission is to go to these shows where people advertise their stuff (e.g. at fairs) and you'll usually find window people there. I have an article written by someone with a doctorate and several others from a chemical company the explains today's solar gain ignorance and why what the window companies try to sell us is wrong. hee hee. I hand copies of this out to them and feel like I'm trying to convert them like a JW or something.
That dork clicker as much as tapped his finger on the table saying why I DID NOT want the sun in here and that doing so would make my energy bills higher, especially in the summer when the sun would heat up the place and the AC would fight it -- my wife said AC is not an issue because she likes it warm, and only to keep the humidity out and we set it at 77F several degrees higher than most people (and windows can be opened on breezy summer days instead of the AC.)
Conversation was braking down fast and my temper was flaring as I told him he was flat out wrong and I turned to my wife and asked her, "Should I bet our entire retirement account that this guy is wrong double or nothing? I want to retire early!" As with most windows people, they just look at the insulating factor like it's an opaque wall and don't consider the sun, except in a negative way the way the medical establishment says it "gives you cancer". The truth is, in the summer, the sun angle is LOWER relative to the vertical plane of the glass (solar window winter) and only 1/3 of the light gets in, not to mention my overhangs. Plus there's shades, awnings, etc that can easily keep sunlight out in the summer but once you tint glass to keep sun out, you can't ever let it in.
Long story short, I ordered Pella "natural sun" (high SHGC, but low U) designed for passive solar gain and love them so far, and at the fraction of the cost (I'm expecting even BIGGER oil/electric savings this winter). In the meantime my mission is to go to these shows where people advertise their stuff (e.g. at fairs) and you'll usually find window people there. I have an article written by someone with a doctorate and several others from a chemical company the explains today's solar gain ignorance and why what the window companies try to sell us is wrong. hee hee. I hand copies of this out to them and feel like I'm trying to convert them like a JW or something.
