How Important Are Energy-Efficient Windows in San Diego?

As pretty much everyone is well aware, San Diego has one of the best climates in all the world. With its mild winters, hot (but not too hot) summers, and relatively small amount of rainfall, it’s no wonder that San Diego is consistently rated one of the best places in the world to live with regard to weather.

So, given San Diego’s mild climate, it shouldn’t matter how energy-efficient your windows are, right?

Why Energy-Efficient Windows in San Diego Are Important

While temperatures on the coast tend to not get too high or too low, inland, they can get into the triple digits during the summer months. In the winter, temperatures can fall below freezing on some evenings. It’s during those times that homeowners want energy-efficient windows in their San Diego homes. This is especially the case for homes without central heating and air conditioning. Energy-efficient windows will help keep the hot air out on especially hot days and keep the cold air out on chilly winter nights.

Our customers who previously had to rely often on their central heating and air to keep their homes comfortable have told us that after they had energy-efficient windows installed in their San Diego homes, they almost never have to run their air conditioners and heaters anymore to keep their homes at an ideal temperature. Imagine how much money you could save on your monthly energy bills if you never (or almost never) ran your air conditioner or heater!

What to Look for in Energy-Efficient Windows for Your San Diego Home

All sellers of replacement windows will tell you that their windows are energy efficient. They can say this because almost all modern windows do a better job of insulating homes than the single pane windows that were installed in your home when it was built.

You need to look a little bit deeper than a simple “our-windows-are-energy-efficient” claim to find the best replacement windows for your San Diego home, with regard to energy efficiency.

Fortunately, the window industry has made it fairly easy to compare the energy efficiency of the various window products on the market. There is standardized, third-party testing done on just about every window available so you can see which ones will do the best job of insulating your home from the outside temperatures.

Because the San Diego area tends to have more hot days than really cold days, the most important performance metric to look at is a window’s solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC). A window’s SHGC rating will tell you how much heat the window will allow into your home. According to the Department of Energy: “The lower the SHGC, the less solar heat it transmits and the greater its shading ability.” All SHGC ratings are between 0 and 1. A “1” rating indicates the maximum amount of solar heat a window allows through, while a “0” rating means a window allows the least amount of solar heat possible to be transmitted.

Many of the replacement windows we sell at BM Windows have SHGC ratings below .25, which is exceptional! You can get that rating even lower with certain upgrades available from the window manufacturers. A BM Windows representative can help you determine if upgrades are necessary, given your home and its specific location.

There are other factors related to the energy efficiency of replacement windows, but for most homeowners, the SHGC rating is the most important. If you’d like to learn more about the energy-efficient windows we sell in San Diego, contact our office to schedule your in-home appointment.