"Anecdotally, my friend's place has higher SHGC windows and swears by them, but honestly... I couldn't tell much difference when I visited."
Yeah, I'm with you on this. I've developed a few properties, and honestly, the difference isn't always obvious day-to-day. Had two similar houses side-by-side once—one with high SHGC windows, one without—and tenants never mentioned noticing anything. But maybe the bills told another story... hard to say.
Yeah, it's tricky because comfort is so subjective. Maybe the real question is whether the energy savings justify the upfront cost? I've seen mixed results myself... sometimes the numbers add up, sometimes not so much.
Honestly, I've been crunching numbers on this myself lately and it's kind of a headache. I mean, sure, comfort is subjective, but at the end of the day, I'm mostly interested in whether my wallet feels comfortable, you know?
When I looked into it, some of the high-rated insulated windows had a pretty steep upfront cost. Ran a few calculators online and got wildly different results each time—one said I'd break even in 5 years, another said closer to 15. Like, seriously? How can they be that far apart?
I guess my question is: has anyone here actually installed these higher-rated windows and tracked their energy bills afterward? Did you see a noticeable drop, or was it more like "meh"? Because right now, I'm leaning towards just sealing up drafts and calling it a day...
I haven't personally tracked bills after installing high-rated windows, but from clients' feedback, results vary a lot depending on climate and house age. Honestly, sealing drafts first might give you more bang for your buck...and fewer headaches figuring out those calculators.
Totally agree—draft sealing often yields quicker results. I've noticed even high-rated windows underperform if the installation isn't spot-on. Good insulation around frames matters just as much as ratings, sometimes more...
