My day starts to the whirling sound of my Hurricane fans. They sit against my screen doors drawing in the cool night air. When the sun rises I put sunshields up in my doors and windows to keep the sun out. During this current heat wave I have been able to get the temperature down to around 70F and as the sun heats my place the temperature slowly rises to around 78F at 4pm.
In the year 2000 I upgraded my windows to low-E dual pane windows from Milgard that had a solar heat gain coefficient of .36. That meant 74% percent of the heat of the sun was blocked and I was impressed. Now in 2023 Milgard has low-E 3 4th surface windows with a solar heat gain coefficient of .19 which blocks 81% of the heat of the sun. I’m glad to see window technology has advanced.
Advanced Window upgraded my windows back in 2000. I called them back at the beginning of the year to upgrade a few windows to low-E 3. This latest round I called them to upgrade my patio doors to Milgard low-E 3 4th surface.
About 3 weeks after I ordered my patio doors Advanced Window called me to schedule the installation. Advanced Window laid out heavy cloth to cover my carpet/rugs as I had concerns about getting them dirty. The install took less than a day. There was a tricky part as the opening for one patio door wasn’t perfectly square. After a bit of work the doors are working perfectly and look great.
They also redid the molding which also looks great. There was a requirement to remove the blinds and there was an extra charge for removal and replacement. I opted not to have them do it and did it myself.
I am quite happy with the new doors and windows and the installation. I have contracted with Advanced Window for all my window needs and would not hesitate to call them again in 20 years if the window technology has advanced to block 95% of the heat of the sun.
I tested the windows and doors and in the summer heat that 19% is warming up the townhouse more than I prefer. For the kitchen window I cut a piece of cardboard to the same size as the window and taped aluminum foil on one side. For my west facing bedroom window I was able to get a piece of heavy duty cardboard that was just a bit smaller than the glass and taped aluminum foil to one side and stuck it in the window sill. Now every door or window has a car sunshield or my own custom cardboard sunshields helping keep out the sun. I’d estimate I’m keeping out 95% of the sun’s heat. So far I haven’t had the urge to turn on the AC this year.
My other posts about what I’ve done to avoid using the AC:
The new sliding glass doors look pretty & slide very quietly. It was fun watching them install the doors. They do excellent work!
The new doors are an improvement. 🙂
Very cool (pun intended), it’s amazing how things advance as technology gets better and better!
I wish they had windows that block 95% of the sun’s heat. Then I wouldn’t need to live in a cave.