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desertwest

Just got new windows - what I like and don't like (low SHGC)

desertwest
13 years ago

I just got 12 replacement windows installed this week. I had aluminum double pane. Now I have Milgard Ultra fiberglass. I also looked at Pella, Marvin, and Anderson (Fibrex which isn't fiberglass). I wanted fiberglass because it's low maintenance and very durable. I had brown windows and the new ones are brown. I can acutally hardly notice the difference, except the new ones have a wider frame around the edges. They are also 2" thicker so I have less room on the sills for plants now.

I got triple glaze because it didn't cost too much (~$70/window, My biggest regret is getting the SunCoatMax (SCM) which dropped the SHGC to below .30 so they qualified for the tax credit (UF 0.30, SGC 0.18, VLT 0.34 - they have grills). Luckily at the last minute I only got it on the 3 big picture windows, thinking I want some heat gain and I can use blinds in the summer for those without SCM. I know I'll be glad I got it in the summer, but today it's sunny and 20 degrees outside and I can barely feel any warmth from the sun coming through those windows with SCM. I still have one of the old windows because the rep submitted the wrong dimension, and the sun coming through that is very warm. The other windows are LowE 179 and I can feel warmth through those (UF 0.32, SGC 0.23, VLT 0.38 with grills). Of course the SCM ones are supposed to keep the heat in better too.

But it's nice to have windows that actually open and close completely, and no draft coming through!

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