Beautiful old home

You can add glazing to your historical home without ruining its curb appeal.

Today houses are built with double glazed windows standard. However, if you live in an older home, especially one of historic significance, you may still have single pane windows. As today’s energy costs rise, refitting your house with more efficient windows may be on your list of to-dos.

You may be bemoaning the fact that you have beautiful old glass in you current windows, and the look of metal or vinyl windows just doesn’t get you excited. If that’s the case you’ll be glad to know that double glazing can be added to most existing windows, this is done by inserting a second window inside or outside the existing window. Of course if you have beautiful old lead or art deco glass windows you’ll want to put the glazing on the inside, so the curb appeal isn’t altered.

Double glazing cost can be recouped in the saving you’ll make on your fuel bill, which is estimated to be around 20 percent. That means the windows will pay for themselves rather quickly. You’ll be warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer and still save money.

There are other hidden savings, too. Double glazing protects your furniture and curtains from UV light, making them last longer. The biggest savings is not necessarily monetary, but in the fact that your CO2 footprint is positively impacted by installing glazed windows. I saw one statistic that stated that if all the houses in the UK installed double glazed windows, they could save the equivalent of 740,000 households’ CO2 emissions. Now that’s ton of footprints! They also cut down on the amount of noise that infiltrates your house. If you live out in the country that may not be a concern, but city dwellers will like this perk.

So, out with the old and in with the new. You’ll save money, have a quieter home, and help green the planet all with one choice.