The Best Reasons for Home Window Replacement: Sacramento, CA Homeowner Tips

The weekends around my house are often used for tackling those pesky home improvement projects, especially now that it’s warm outside. During the summer months, I really like to check off the things on my list that make our Sacramento home more energy efficient. We don’t intend to sell anytime soon, but almost every home nowadays is built with energy efficiency in mind so I want to make sure our home stays up-to-date. In the short term, this will save us money on our energy bills. And, should we decide to sell down the line, energy improvements will increase the resale value as well—and that’s a win-win in my book.

One of the big home improvement projects that I recommend taking off your honey-do list and outsourcing to the professionals, though, is home window replacement. Sacramento, CA’s famous historic homes could especially benefit from newer, double pane windows that have become the standard in the Sac Valley. It’s definitely time to change out any single panes in your home for sturdier, higher efficiency ones.

New replacement windows are made of better materials, are easier to operate, and offer modern styles to improve not only the performance of your home but the look as well. Here are the three best reasons for home window replacement over the Sacramento summer.

Home Window Replacement in Sacramento, CA Offers Better Cooling Efficiency

I’m pretty crazy about making energy efficient improvements to my home wherever I can. From low-flow plumbing to solar panels, anything to lighten my dependence on the grid sounds good to me. While there’s debate about which ones are worth the added expense, there’s no question that reducing the energy that your HVAC unit consumes is the best efficiency improvement you can make to your home.

Some of the ways that new windows can help improve your cooling efficiency are:

• Improved insulation: Almost a quarter of the heat losses in your home are due to your windows, and during a Sacramento summer that can mean a few very high electric bills. Single pane windows have very little insulative properties, making them a real drag on your energy usage. Updating your home’s windows and replacing them with double, or even triple, insulated windows can save energy and money on your bill each month, starting with the day after they’re installed (great for offsetting the rate increases from PG&E).
• Fewer leaks: One big reason that your windows use up so much energy is because of leaky seals at your window frames. Some of the wood frame windows that you find on older homes in the Sacramento area are notorious for swelling and rot due to moisture, causing them to crack and leak over time. That’s why newer aluminum style window frames are often a better choice for a tighter seal because they don’t absorb water the way wood does.
• More operable: Only a few decades back, windows were either static and couldn’t be opened at all or, with a lot of effort, they could be swung open. Now you can get a window to open just about any way you want to—and with ease! This is great if you want to take advantage of those cool breezes at night to passively cool your home, giving your air conditioner, and your pocketbook, a break.

Increasing the Value of your Sacramento Home with a Window Replacement

It’s always weird to me how age tends to indicate that some stuff has more value. Old wines, coins, cars, and even houses. But the one caveat is that they have to be kept almost like new. This is especially important for a historic home. To maintain the value, or even increase it, it’s crucial to keep important features safe and efficient, like your windows. Installing new windows in your home can increase its value through:

• Improved efficiency: High-efficiency windows improve the comfort level in your home but can also really reduce the amount of heat that enters during the hot months and leaves during the cold ones. This means your air conditioner and heater don’t have to work as hard and you use less energy, which is great news with those increased PG&E rates here in Sacramento. If installed by a professional window installer, they can also add value by reducing leaks and improving security.
• Longer lifespan: It’s a no-brainer that replacing an old window with a new one means that your windows will last longer. But newer insulated windows with aluminum frames, for example, have much longer lifespans than, say, single pane windows with wooden frames, which makes them an excellent way to increase the value of your home.
• Updated style: Not only are newer windows made of better materials but they also open and shut easier. Having different styles of windows that open in different ways gives you flexibility when ventilating your home—and can be really appealing to future buyers. And with the Sacramento housing market booming like it is, you’ll be glad you made this improvement should you decide to sell.

Safety First in Your Sacramento Home with a Window Replacement

Sure, we all want our homes to be beautiful and energy efficient but, above all else, they really need to be safe for our families. Your house needs to be secure from the day you move in but, over time, your home can age and require updates. Windows, in particular, need to be updated over time—especially if they were the original ones in a historic home. New window replacement can improve the safety of your Sacramento home by offering:

• Safer materials: The windows on our grandparents’ homes were made of materials that were not so great for your health. For example, stained glass and paint often contained lead and lots of building materials, like mastics used to seal windows, contained asbestos. Both lead and asbestos are hazardous if inhaled, which is why when they’re found in a building now they have to be completely removed prior to being occupied. Now windows are made of materials free of these chemicals, ensuring the health of you and your family, important whether you intend to stay in your Sacramento home or put it on the market.
• Secure seals: Sacramento is a great place to live, sure, but like any city we have our share of crime. That’s why replacing old windows with more secure, modern models can give you the peace of mind you need. Old window frames are easy to pry open but with the heavy duty frames offered on most insulated windows these days, it’s almost impossible to pry loose—not to mention that double and triple pane windows are more difficult to break through.

I think one of the joys of being a homeowner is the pride you have in taking care of your home. I know I enjoy making improvements to historic Sacramento homes while also maintaining their charm. The housing market is doing really well here, too, as more and more people realize what a great place it is to live, so I also always keep in mind that major improvements like this affect a home’s value. And new, energy efficient windows are a great way to increase it in today’s bustling Northern California real estate market.

Having newer, energy efficient windows installed in an old home is one of the best home improvement decisions you can make. While I can make improvements here and there myself, replacing the windows in my own home was definitely a job for the experts I have the privilege of working with every day. Now I know we have quality windows in our home that were installed properly and are helping to reduce the energy being consumed by our air conditioner. After all, this summer is supposed to be a hot one!

If you live in an older home that still has its original windows, it might be time for you to replace them. Contact Bell Brothers to find out more about the different types of new windows you can have installed to improve your Sacramento home’s energy efficiency.

Image courtesy Unsplash user Alvin Engler