Summer Window Tips for Keeping Your Home Cooler

Let’s face it, we all love to look outside through our windows but during the heat of the summer, those windows can certainly cost us in terms of our cooling bills. Windows can be one of your home's most attractive features providing beautiful views, sunlight and ventilation. Windows allow us the pleasure of viewing our surroundings, providing us with countless hours of daylight and ventilation. Unfortunately though, in the hot summer months, they can account for huge increases in our electric bills.

There are several things you can do both in the short and long term to help reduce your energy costs.

In the short term, you can:

• Install white window shades, drapes, or blinds to reflect heat away from the house.
• Close curtains on both southern and western exposed windows during the day.
• Install awnings on both your south and west facing windows.
• Apply sunscreens or reflective film on both south and west-facing windows to reduce solar gain.

In the long term, you can:
Replace your windows by installing new, high-performance windows that will improve your home's energy performance. While it may take a few years for the windows to pay off in energy savings, the benefits of added comfort and improved aesthetics and functionality make the investment worth it. There are many window technologies that are available and worth considering. Let one of the Representatives from Russell Glass show you the differences that energy efficient dual pane windows, advanced framing materials, and low-e coatings can make.