Should you replace your Aluminum Windows with Vinyl windows?

The Dilema: Should you replace your old double pain aluminum windows with energy efficient vinyl windows? Of course, all the experts quote payback periods and R values but what does it really mean and is it really worth expense???? I banged around the internet, called my local rural electric coop and could not really get any hard data but pretty much the same story over and over. The one thing our guy at the local electric coop did do was to give us a specific window maker to look at and his recommendation to just do it.

We had windows failing - moisture inbetween double panes so you could not see out. I did replace a few windows which is about $100 a glass if you take the sliding door in to the shop or replace it yourself. But the sliding doors were clunky worn out and the screens had been damaged after 25 years of service. We live in a house of glass so we have 6 sliding glass doors and 16 other windows. So it is not cheap.

I priced buying the Certainteed windows myself........ nut that I am I often hire a professional and then work to help to keep costs low. But actually the price of replacement from a distributor was not that much more than me buying them. And lot less of a headache for me.

So we made the plunge and signed a contract and ordered the windows. It was fun to change how some of the windows opened to better suit our use and to make full panes of windows we never opened. We spent $ 250 more for all the windows to be seated on a strip of insulation that reduces sound even more and increase the insualtion or R value.

It is really quite the process. Outside trim is removed and the siding is cut back so the old frame can be removed.

The new windows take some tweaking but slide in. They had to remove all interior trim around the window because there was a change from the thickness of the aluminum window.


Much faster having a whole crew working on a project like this.


Pop in goes the new window. It was sooooooooooo nice to have clean, clear window.

The old window that was here had really fogged up and they would slide with difficulty. Plus aluminum frame collect moisture that drips on wood and rots the frame. Black mold forms on the frames inside the house and that is deadly. A few more years and we would have had to pay for framing to be replaced as well thus driving the cost $$$$$$$ rocketing.

Fortunately the frames and the old windows can be recycled. Our installers dad uses them on his rental homes. cool.

So did we think it was a good move to replace the windows????

ABSOLUTELY!!!!

We are so impressed with all the changes and improvement.

1. Quieter - it is amazing how the house is quieter. You do not hear annoying outside sounds, traffic noise, big trucks rumbling by, etc.

2. More even temperature - Our main source of heat has been wood burning in our woodstove and we use a whole house fan for cooling the house. So we are more aware of temperature flucuations in outside temperature. It is amazing how much more stable the temperature is inside the house.

3. Maintains warmth in cold temperatures - we get chilly and cold nights in Oregon in the fall. The afternoon temp is warm and comfortable so you really do not want to start up the woodstove. It was amazing to see how warm the house stayed and just maintained a much warmer temperature. We did not even have to use an electric heater. This is a pic of the temperature at about 7 am this fall.
24 degrees warmer inside with NO HEAT.


4. House is much cooler inside during hot outside temperatures. We cool the house down with the whole house fan using the cool Oregon night air. The picture below is mid afternoon when it is 95F degrees in the shade meaning that in the sun temp is 100F or higher. By late afternoon the inside temp had risen some but it was very cool and very comfortable. As you can see we drop bamboo shades on the sun side to keep out the burning heat. Our summer electric bill is $ 116 a month with all the cooking and computers and this simple cooling system.

whole house fan - read more about this great way to cheaply cool your home

30 F + degrees cooler 9 + hours later after shutting off the fan and closing up the hosue in the afternoon with no additional cooling.

This is the temp after many chilly nights and cool days but the house is naturally warmer and keeps a much more even temp. Still 10 degrees warmer insde even though we have not been running any kind of heat.



The trippy part is that we have only burned our woodstove a few days this fall which has been quite chilly and rainy. We use a small electric oil filled heater with box fan and the house is a very comfy 68F. So easy.

So yes we highly recommend replacing your old aluminum windows with vinyl.

Now it is time to paint the whole house with ICI Dulux paint! yeaaaaaaaaaaaa

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Winter update

We have gotten into colder weather = freezing at night. The house is still 20 degrees warmer outside with no heat. With a touch of one oil filled electric heater it stays around 64 F.

I have started using the woodstove the house stays 65 F to 70F with the air shut down so that the logs are just smoldering. I would guess that we will use half the firewood of a normal winter because the vinyl windows.

I would think that the vinyl windows will significantly reduce energy costs for most insulated homes and pay for themselves in energy savings in a matter of years.

Plus you are much more comfortable with a stable and steady temperature. Good for you and good for the planet.