Champion
Window and Door is a proud member and
supporter of the Energy Star program.
Energy Star is a national curriculum
aimed at aiding the protection of the
environment through a better efficiency
of energy. Through the use of modern
technology, windows and doors qualified
by Energy Star aid in attaining large
savings in energy cost. By replacing
all residential windows with those qualified
by Energy Star, the United States would
save $134 billion over the next 15 years
in energy expenses.
Various
benefits of windows and doors qualified by Energy
Star lead to qualified windows being twice as
efficient today as the average window produced
ten years ago. One of these advantages is the
ability to save up to 15 percent on your energy
bills, which can eventually lead to a substantial
amount. The decrease of energy usage also leads
to the prevention of pollution in our environment.
Other benefits of Energy Star qualified windows
and doors are: increased defense against sun
damage to various products in your building,
greater comfort, and improved noise reduction.
The ability of windows and doors to achieve
the greatest savings of energy and pollution
are based on various factors, which are rated
by the National Fenestration Rating Council
(NFRC). The transfer rate of heat from either
your building or outside through your window
or door is known as the U-factor. The general
ratings U-factor ratings fall between 0.20 and
1.20. The R-value indicates the insulating value,
and is the opposite of the U-value. The lesser
the heat flow, the lower the U-value, and the
better the insulating value of the product.
The amount of heat your house gains from the
sun is known as the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient,
or SHGC. The SHGC is determined as a value between
0 and 1. A better rating of the window or door
is reached with less heat transmission, and
a lower SHGC value. Other ways of rating the
efficiency of windows and doors are Visible
Transmittance (VT) and Air Leakage (AL). Visible
Transmittance measures the amount of light that
passes through the product, expressed by a number
between 0 and 1. If less light is transmitted,
the VT number is lower. Air Leakage is the measure
of the amount of air passing through the window
or door assembly. If the AL is lower, less air
passes through the gaps in the product's assembly.
With the continued support of our neighboring
communities, Champion Window and Door aims to
incorporate as many possible aspects of the
Energy Star program not only within our own
corporation, but to our customers and other
corporations. Through this, we hope to grow
the interest in the relatively easy, yet significantly
important national energy saving agenda.