Hello:
Regarding the Low-e (low emissivity) coating option that Anersen and Pella both apparently offer on their lines of replacement glass windows:
Do these coatings change the clarity of the glass ?
Still "crystal-clear" with the coating applied ?
Any discernable tint, or glass color changes, apparent at all ?
etc. ?
Unfortunately, none of the sample windows we were able to look at in the stores had the coatings; hence the question.
Thanks, Bob
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.
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