Low-e (low emissivity) Coatings On Andersen & Pella Glass Windows ?

Interesting that they had none on display. And, I wonder how they hold up to normal maintenance, like being cleaned with paper towels which, no matter what the ads say, tend to be abrasive.

We got the low-e coating on a set of windows in our home, because we didn't want the sun bleaching our furniture in that room.

You can't really tell a difference between the low-e coating and non-low-e unless the windows are right next to each other.

It's a very very light tint, and I believe the coating is on the inside of the panes of glass, but I can't remember for sure.

If you get a ton of sun and don't have a lot of cover, I'd consider it. Radiant heating can be a bother.

Although I will warn you that if you like to put live plants in your windows, you don't want low-e everywhere. I had a buddy once who put the low-e windows everywhere in his new house and couldn't figure out why all his plants were dying, even though they were in the full light of the windows.

Robert11 wrote:

A little, kind of and a little.

If you do a side-by-side comparison with untreated glass, you will see a slight difference in the low-e coated glass. Otherwise you would not notice it.

But the low-e coating REALLY does work WELL so it should always be chosen over untreated glass. Hold your hand in front of a lamp, then put some low-e glass between the lamp & your hand & you'll really feel the difference. End result? Lower a/c bills & less fading on paint, fabric, etc.

Another benefit of low-e is that it keeps your house's winter heat in instead of radiating it to the outside. (Heat travels from hot to cold areas)

Also, the low-e coating is on the inside of thermopane glass so it never washes off.

There is no downside to low-e glass.

However, I'd be suspect of any glass dealer that has no low-e windows on display. They are not a novelty item anymore.