Quality House Windows

This year you can get a $1500 government tax credit when you replace your current house windows with energy efficient ones thanks to the 2009 Stimulus Bill that was recently passed.

The bill allows homeowners to deduct 30% of the cost of window replacement on their taxes up to a total of $1500. So if you want to qualify for the full $1500 credit you would have to spend at least $5000 on window replacement.

A lot of people have been asking which windows qualify for the $1500 tax credit. It is important to understand that not all windows qualify as energy efficient windows regardless of what it says on the box. To qualify the replacement windows need to have a 0.30 U-Factor(Value) or less AND a 0.30 SHGC (Solar Heat Gain Coefficient). This information should be listed on the sticker on the window, so be sure to review it carefully. The windows must be purchased and installed between December 31, 2008 and December 31, 2010. See an example window sticker here. (click on the image to see a larger one)

You will get this credit when you do your taxes for the year that you replaced your windows. Make sure to keep all receipts for the windows as well as receipts for the labor to install them. Having this documentation is very important in case you are audited.

Lets not forget that along with the credit from the IRS to install energy efficient windows, the energy savings alone over the life of the windows can add up significantly. As fuel costs rise, it only makes sense to start trying to mitigate the rising costs by making the necessary updates to your home.

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Depending on the age of your home you may have windows installed in your home with little or no insulation. In the current economy with increasing home fuel costs, having insulated windows will help significantly reduce a homeowners heating and cooling bills throughout the year.

Most older House Windows will only have one pane of glass. These types of windows are called single pane windows. Windows produced today are commonly created with two panes or double panes of glass. Double paned windows provide two barriers of protection to the elements to help keep cold and heat from entering the window and window frame.

There is also a newer type of house window called a Gas filled window. Gas filled windows are exactly like how they sound. There is a gas trapped between 2 panes of glass. The gas, usually, krypton or argon helps to minimize the transfer of the outside temperature to the inside of the house. These types of windows help to block out solar rays which helps keep the house cooler in the summer whereas a regular window would allow all that heat in as the sun shines through the window. One issue with gas filled windows is that as a house settles the window can actually shift in a way that the gas can be released. The window can then fill up with moisture between the 2 panes making it very hard to look through.

The US government as part of the Stimulus Package passed on 2008 is giving homeowners a tax credit of up to $15000 when they install energystar energy effecient  windows. The government has estimated that when installing energystar rated windows, the energy savings are as follows:

As you can see replacing your current windows with insulated house windows is not a cheap process, but the savings you can gain in the long term is well worth the cost. Installing energy efficient windows also allows you to help the environment by helping to conserve energy costs, and as those costs rise, you will be happy that you went through that process.

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