LoE-i89 Double Pane Windows Keep You Warmer in Winter

Is Your Home Ready for Winter?

Get ready, cold weather is or will soon be upon us! Winter can be a surprise to central Texans after a long hot summer, but it is inevitable. So when cold northern winds start to blow in our state, Ringer Windows wants your home to be ready. That’s why we added LoE-i89 glass windows to our product line many years ago. These windows are designed to help your home be more energy efficient in cold weather. This blog entry will help you understand how the glass in these windows can work for you.

What is LoE-i89 Double Pane Glass & How is it Made?

Producing LoE-i89 glass begins with spectrally smart LoE-366 glass from Cardinal Industries. LoE-366 is triple coated on the outside to block UV and infrared thus keeping homes cooler in the summer. LoE-i89 glass builds on this by adding a slightly reflective Indium coating to the window surface inside your home. This extra layer reflects radiant heat from the furnace back into your house reducing heat loss in cold weather!

Why Buy LoE-i89 Double Pane & Not Triple Pane Windows?

Why should you buy LoE-i89 double pane windows for your home instead of triple pane ones? To answer this question let me tell you a little story. Several years ago, a cooler than normal winter brought out many folks requesting triple pane windows. At the time I was a newbie to the Texas window industry, but I’d learned several things about triple pane windows. Please read on for the rest of the story.

My First Triple Pane Window Lesson: Northerners Think They’re Essential, But…

The first thing I learned is that people from northern states believe that winter energy efficiency depends on triple pane windows. The states I’m referring to are North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and those from New York to Maine. However, my own five-year home ownership in upstate New York didn’t include triple pane windows. Instead, we made do with storm windows and plastic wrap to help keep the wind out. After 21 years in Texas, I thought I was doing well without the plastic wrap. Thus, despite the opinions of northerners about triple pane windows, personal experience made me begin to question them here.

The Next Triple Pane Revelation: They are Indeed Overkill for Central Texas Winters

As I learned more I realized that based on technical specs and cost, triple panes may actually be overkill for our winters. This is because they’re designed to improve the U-Factor or insulating value of a window in very cold climates. Most years it simply doesn’t get cold enough here to warrant having triple pane windows. They can add upfront expense that may not be recovered in energy savings during our short, relatively warm winters.

What I Learned Last About Triple Panes: They Don’t Reduce Summer Heat

The last and most important lesson is that triple pane windows don’t improve summer window efficiency. Since they can only affect a window’s insulating value or U-Factor, there is no Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) benefit. The latter is a thermal value for the effectiveness of heat gain. In other words, how well a window reduces ultraviolet and infrared energy. Although U-Factors matter in winter (and why our windows have argon gas), the SHGC value determines summer thermal effectiveness. My energy bills are highest in summer due to constant air conditioning to cool my house. It actually runs for eight months in central Texas, but the furnace generally for just two. As a result, I’m looking for energy cost savings year-round but mostly when it’s hot and triple pane windows don’t provide that.

My Conclusion: Double Pane LoE-i89 Windows are Best

Double pane, energy-efficient windows for Austin, Texas should include an outstanding low-e glass such as LoE-i89. This will lower the SHGC for summer energy efficiency and increase heat retention in winter. For U-Values less than 0.3 to match triple pane thermal ratings, LoE i-89 is best for double pane glass.

More About How LoE-i89 Double Pane Windows Work

For more about how LoE-i89 windows work let’s review the four glass surfaces in their two panes. We’ll call surface one the side of the first pane facing the elements. Next is surface two, the other side of that pane which is hermetically sealed in the window. It has either a LoE-366 or LoE-270 coating to help cool your home in the summer. Following this is surface three which is on the second pane and also hermetically sealed. Finally, surface four is the other side of pane two facing into your home. This surface has a permanent LoE-i89 Indium layer which reflects heat back into your living space. Unfortunately, our LoE i-89 coating may not be used with privacy glass.

So, fellow central Texans here’s what I recommend you do to help make your home winter-ready.
1. Read my triple pane window blog post. It’s a very detailed discussion of winter window pros and cons including some numbers.
2. Talk to the experts at Ringer Windows about our Loe-i89 double pane window. It’s an outstanding, energy efficient product with the winter thermal efficiency of a triple pane window. And it doesn’t come with the extra cost, weight, and bulk.