All of us – in our homes and our work facilities – feel it. Energy costs are rising faster than inflation, which is growing at a faster rate than ever in the last 40 years. Don’t just “shrug your shoulders”, curse a little bit, and then pay your bill and move on. There are things you can do to bring down your energy costs now. And the beauty of reducing energy usage is that your single action will continue to reduce your energy costs for months and years in the future without having to do anything else. Contrast that to sales. Say you succeed in increasing sales, well, you have to do it again year after year.

Oh yes, oh yes. These measures will cost you money upfront. Yes, I get it. But smart choices will have you make these costs back in time. But still money is hard to find for these projects. This is the first in a series of articles of energy projects for your building and home that represent good energy cost savings and can be relatively affordable.

Windows.  Perhaps your windows are old and maybe leaky. Perhaps they are single pane. This is a problem. Your building is a “shell” to keep the conditioned air (warm or cool) that you’ve spent money to make (boiler combusting natural gas or AC system using electricity you pay for) from escaping. You want the shell to keep that warmth or cooling inside where people are. Windows are the weak point of a building’s shell. They are nice to have and look out of, but not a good insulator at all. Poor windows can lead to a lot of leaking of conditioned air, meaning your boiler or AC unit must work harder to produce replace lost warmth or cooling, using more energy (which you are paying for) and leading to more wear and tear on the expensive equipment.

But there is a problem with replacing windows. Yes, replacing leaky, single-pane windows with double- or triple-pane windows is an answer, but it’s a relatively expensive solution with a long payback period (12-30 years is common). Given that windows often last 30, 40 or even more years, it is a good investment, but understandable that an owner or manager would hesitate given the upfront cost and long payback. But there are less expensive items to do vis-à-vis the windows to improve insulation.

One way is adding a pane to the inside of your window. Such window inserts (often see-through plastic, not breakable glass) add significant insulation to your windows to keep conditioned air in and save you excess fuel combustion or electricity. They can be installed quickly and also improve noise attenuation and security properties, too. One disadvantage of this product is that it can only be used for inoperable windows (do not open or shut). Intelligent Energy Group sells such window inserts to consider.

Another way to enhance insulation without replacing windows is to add a film to the window, which can block IR, UV, and other solar radiation from entering the room. This prevents heat gain in a room, measured by its Solar Heat Gain Coefficient. The lower the SHGC, the better the film is at blocking non-visible radiation that would heat a room in the summer. Film is also often rated by its visible transmittance (VT). The higher the VT, the more visible light is transmitted, which is what you want for a room. The right window film can improve a window’s insulation properties. The government agency, Energy Star, currently does not rate window film, but the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) does. One vendor to consider is Wex Energy, which manufactures a product called WindowSkins. CCES has the experts to help you assess your windows and provide diverse options to improve their insulation and help you save energy costs. CCES can also help you save energy in your building in other areas, too. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.