Window Replacement Offers Tax Credit

New window replacement with Energy Star ratings can earn you a $1,500 tax credit, adding value to your home and reducing your energy bills.

Let’s get honest. Do your windows whistle when it’s windy outside? Do they rattle in their panes when a compact car passes by? Has all the furniture and carpet directly inside the window faded like they were colored in invisible ink? Are they constantly covered in wet film or, worse, little black spots of mold? Have your heating and cooling bills risen faster than the price of gas at the pump?

Replacing Windows

It might be time to finally install replacement windows. The benefits go beyond just keeping the elements off your carpet. Did you know that new windows can help:

  • Energy efficiency
  • Improved home value
  • Improved aesthetics
  • Cost savings

How about if you were told you’d save money on replacement windows by utilizing the tax credits currently extended by the federal government as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009? The terms are simple, even for procrastinators. You buy qualified ENERGY STAR rated windows before the end of 2010 and the government gives you a tax credit up to 30 percent of the product cost.

Cost Savings and Energy Efficiency

A qualified window replacement, according to the Department of Energy, has a U-factor and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) rating of less than or equal to 0.30. What does that mean? A low U-factor or U-value determines how much energy seeps through or exits from your windows. The lower the U-factor, the higher the insulation values of your new window.

And a low SHGC blocks the additional heat produced by solar rays in the summer. Add e-coatings to your new window and you’ll protect your furnishings and flooring from damaging ultra-violet rays. Vinyl windows are the most popular these days, but there are also wood window varieties to choose from.

Beautiful Energy Efficient Windows

Perhaps you plan on selling your home. Did you know that home buyers are looking for the benefits that come from new, ENERGY STAR compliant windows? Even if you don’t move, replacement windows may pay for themselves through an improving home value and energy efficiency with lower power bills.

If this hasn’t convinced you that now is the most strategic time to invest in new or replacement windows when you can save some money doing it, then take another look at your windows and imagine yourself living in a draft-free, energy-efficient home.

 

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