By Carole Hawkins, Staff Writer
Construction consultant Steve Easley spoke at NEFBA’s E-Council quarterly training series about getting the biggest bang for the buck when it comes to making homes more energy efficient.
One tip he shared was to match windows to the area’s climate. Here, window coatings matter.
For Florida, home builders should seek a low-E coating with low solar heat gain, Easley said.
A low-E coating insulates the window, keeping heat or cold from passing through. But not all low-E windows shield a home’s interior from infrared wavelengths, which can cause a greenhouse effect.
To keep low-E windows from overheating houses in warm climates during summer months, windows need to also have a low solar heat gain coefficient, Easley said.
“Standard double pane windows let in 71 percent of the sun’s heat, that’s for standard low-E glass,” Easley said. “Whereas the (low solar heat gain coefficient) low-E windows will block most of the infrared energy, but they still work in the winter to keep you comfortable.”
New energy building codes require a solar heat gain coefficient of no more than .25 for windows installed in Florida, Easley said.
At the training session, Easley also listed the top seven reasons why homes don’t perform well when it comes to energy efficiency:
• High window-to-wall ratio
• Choosing the wrong glazing (windows)
• High framing factor in combination with thermal bridging (heat conduction from framing that “leaks” energy around the surrounding insulation)
• An ineffective air barrier system
• Poorly installed insulation
• Focus is primarily on insulating cavities instead of on the R-value of the structure as a whole
• Poorly installed HVAC system
Get more tips on energy efficiency from steveeasley.com.