The Latest on Practical LED Lighting

Product availability is really changing fast. Last fall's offerings at Sam's Club and Costco no longer exist. So if you need LED lighting right now, the optimum solution is at Home Depot, "while suppplies last":
HD Online LED bulb This bulb is bright enough at 428 lumens, but a little pricey at $20. But it's by far the best value as all the other LED bulbs that are this bright will set you back $30-$70 each. And get this, it's guaranteed to last for 46 years (vs 7 for CFLs). Other important features are that it reaches full brightness immediately (unlike CFLs) and is dimmable (rare for CFLs).

I have decided to concentrate on standard medium base screw in bulbs, since they will fit the most economical and the most common fixtures.

Competition for Window World

Apparently another company is trying to compete head-to-head against Window World:
Denver Post Ad for Clear Choice

Careful, service companies like this always try to upsell you on anything they can. Stick to your guns if price is the most important thing to you.

In order to get windows that qualify for the Energy Star rebate, expect to pay significantly more than the $185 shown in this ad. Even if that eats up the whole rebate, remember you should save money every month because you will have a better window that loses less heat.

Window Retrofit Redux

In this post, I'm speaking as a home rehabber only. The window solution for the actual homeowner who lives in their home could be different.

I fix homes to resell. The windows must look really good and work perfectly. Thermal performance isn't that important, but most buyers will pay a little more for double glazed windows. If there are some windows that don't open and close, the home inspector will find it. Then the buyer will probably ask you to fix it, or at least give a credit of about $200 per window.

The homes I fix average about 70 years old. They either have the original wood windows or vinyl replacement windows. 90% of the original wood single hung windows work BADLY. If the vinyl windows are over 10 years old, yes, there is some maintenance and parts replacement required. This work costs about $50 per window.

The rehabilitation of the original wood window with about 10 layers of paint on it will cost about $200, and it won't be as tight as a new vinyl window. It will also still be a single glazed non low-e window that tends to cause some thermal comfort problems in that room.

You can add storms to the inside or outside, but 90% of those are lost or inoperable after 20 years. With thoughtless tenants, this can drop to one year. Cost is irrelevant here, because they don't hold up long term.

I have tried all these different scenarios, and new windows are really the only option. When the home is to be resold, it unfortunately turns out that the cheapest window is the most cost-effective. Consumer education may eventually change this. In some munincipalities, the home must be updated to the new energy code whenever it changes hands. That also solves the problem but adds the other problem of forcing the new price of the house to be much higher, or cause the rehabber's margin to be slimmer. Too much government meddling, IMO.

I was particularly disappointed in the wood window restoration route. Yes, the windows worked again, but they still looked BAD. They were simply too far gone for restoration, and that's the case in 80% of the homes I rehab.

In summary, the window must operate, the payback period is irrelevant. $250 each for new windows is worth it, but I don't spend more than that on my rehabs since it would be wasted.

In the Denver area, another great company for replacements is Gravina. They offer a triple pane window that won't break the bank.

Walls for New Construction, State of the Art from Betsy Pettit

I've built two homes with SIPs. Things didn't go quite as well as I envisioned, so I've been planning to try a double stud wall (not staggered stud) on the next project. My personal lessons learned to this point follow the same arc that Postgreen Homes has documented really well.

There were still a couple of fussy details about double stud design that were bothering me:
1. In order to cover the exterior insulation around the foundation/basement wall, the outer stud has to be cantilevered out too far.
2. Building a double stud wall is too much like framing two walls, which implies double the framing cost.

Building Science Corp and Betsy Pettit, AIA, have come to the rescue in the latest issue of the Journal of Light Construction (JLC):

They're promoting, and have tested, an Advanced Framing wall sheathed with foam. The innovation is the method to support the siding, 1x3 furring strips are attached to the stud wall with 6" screws. This furring is easier, cheaper and better than another stud wall.

Buying New and Retrofit Windows in Denver

You really only need to know two words on this topic: Window World

Call and ask any company how much they charge for installed windows, they'll say, "let us send out someone to measure, and we'll give you a quote". Fair enough, but you've just committed to one hour with some likeable guy who doesn't value your time that much.

With Window World, just count your windows, then multiply by $250. That's awesome. Of course, they have some options, some of which you need in order to receive the 30% federal rebate. Note that they don't even care about the size. Some windows are bigger, and some smaller, they figure.

As good as they are, you may find confusion when it comes to that all important SHGC number I keep harping on. (Some other guys have started major harping as well )

It just doesn't matter that much. You need some affordable windows NOW that actually go up and down and close tightly. Your south windows are shaded by your neighbor's trees anyway.

So I say go with whatever you can afford.

No Posts in April

Global warming has obviously been cured in Denver. So I was skiing a lot, and not worrying too much about saving the planet.

More on Low e "Solar" Windows

If you've been following along, you may have learned how important it is to have high a SGHC rating on your south facing windows in a passive solar house. I have also complained about how clueless American window manufacturers are on the subject.

All that is still true, but Martin Holladay of the GreenBuildingAdvisor has compiled a helpful list of the Canadian suppliers that understand the issue. Even though Home Depot may not have these windows, you should be able to get them shipped to you. Fiberglass frames and triple glazing also add value to your project, and are usually worth the extra money. Fiberglass ensures you won't need to replace them in your lifetime. Triple glazing not only reduces heat loss all the time, it prevents most condensation problems even when you live in Denver and crank up the humidifier when it's zero degrees outside.