Replacement windows connundrum

[chrisinhouston]

Like I said, I personally think they got taken but I won't tell them that. My stepson got those new Nest thermostats where you can monitor and control your home temp from you smart phone. He is big on energy savings and keeps the home pretty warm by my wife and my standards. When we are home in the summer we keep our home cooled to 73-75 depending on the time of day and he keeps their home at 80-82 degrees and we usually find it too warm for us (he turns it down for us when we visit). Yes perhaps the old adage of penny wise and pound foolish applies here when he worries about cutting his electric bill but pays for super costly windows... Oh well.
From what I understand, in order to actually recoup your costs for new energy efficient windows you actually have to use your AC in the summer or heat in the winter. They do tend to keep the home warmer in the winter then us, we are just cold blooded and have more body fat I guess.

Since his new windows get less sunlight year round the energy savings will probably be more in the winter but $17K is a whole lot to recoup. If you Google the topic of new windows saving money you find most answers are by window replacement websites and as expected purport big savings and payback. One site I checked claimed that on average you will save 25% in one year on the cost of energy. But my step son's home already had the bigger half of the home's window exposure replaced by the previous owner and he was doing the smaller part which mostly faces away from the sun or is shaded. I'm going to estimate that he might save 10% at best. If his electric and gas (for heat) bills total $$4500 (just a guess) per year that is only $450. For a cost of $17K that will take him 37 years to recoup! Not only that but the new home has a pool so a fair proportion of his electric bill is for a pool pump running 8=10 hours a day and that will not be improved by windows.

Ok, I know I am beating this horse to death! And there are other things to consider such as increasing the home's resale value and esthetics and sound proofing you from the outside and even increased sense of security and protection from storm damage. In the end I hope the company makes good on it's pledge to make every customer happy and fixes the crappy installation they did.