I live in a house that was originally built in the 1950s. Over the years, the original owners added on (and added on and added on) as their family outgrew the existing space. Lucky for me, by the time they were ready to sell the house, it clocked in at well over 2,500 square feet of living area.
Not so lucky for me, they weren’t as concerned with energy efficiency during their expansion spree.
When we originally bought the house, we knew it would need work. It was definitely what a Realtor would call a “handy man special”, a “fixer upper” or a “diamond in the rough”. But we were captivated by two huge living spaces, a larger than average lot size and a location with family and friends all in the same block.
So, we bought it and embarked on our own spree – this time of updating and renovating. We updated electrical systems, painted, changed floors, painted, renovated bathrooms, painted, changed out a broken air conditioner, painted, replaced the roof and painted some more. After several months of work, we were finally able to move into our home and begin to really make it our own.
After we occupied the house, we were disappointed to find that running 2 air conditioners and cooling a large single story house in the New Orleans heat was a little harder on the budget than we planned for. Even with the addition of insulation, we were being hit with summer time electric bills that were running over $400-$500 per month. But then winter came and the bills settled back down to normal. As summer approached each year, we kept saying that we needed to change out all of the old windows in the house. Like so many other projects that cost more than a couple of hundred dollars, it kept getting pushed to the back burner.
This year, we decided that there would be no more procrastination. As we were painting and replacing flooring in one of the bedrooms, I decided to get a price on having the windows replaced at the same time.
I called my favorite contractor and he sent the window guy out to measure and prepare a quote. Thankfully, it wasn’t as expensive as I was afraid it would be, so we bit the bullet and ordered the windows.
After waiting for a couple of weeks for delivery, the day finally came when the sounds of construction filled my house and those old, crank out, casement monstrosities were removed to make way for double insulated, low E, energy credit at tax time windows.
Within a couple of days, all of the windows were installed and caulked, windowsills and casings were retro-fitted and the appearance of the front of our house took a giant leap into the 21st century. We had just paid an enormous electric bill, so we couldn’t wait to see what the next billing cycle would bring.
Finally, that Entergy envelope arrived in the mail. What we usually viewed with dread, we were excited to see…hoping for any reduction in our bill, but assuming that the recent hot, hot weather would mean another sky high bill. The envelope please…I ripped into the bill…scanning the date to be sure that it was for the time since the windows had been 
installed…looking for that heart stopping number that meant another big deduction from the checking account…
To find that our bill had been cut by more than 50%!! Yep – and that’s for a month when we had record heat and no rain. I can only imagine how small they will be during the winter months when we use very little electricity beyond our appliances.
If you are looking for an easy way to reduce your monthly utility expenses and make your home more energy efficient, changing your windows is definitely an improvement that will pay for itself over time.
Related Reading:
- Rebates and Tax Credits for Windows, Doors, and Skylights
- Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency
- Tax Credit FAQs
This article originally published at West Bank Living
Are you considering buying or selling a home and need some help getting ready? The West Bank Living Team provides local, professional real estate services to home buyers and sellers on the West Bank of New Orleans and military personnel relocating to and from NAS JRB New Orleans. It would be our pleasure to assist you with all of your real estate needs.
Outstanding. Efficient windows would appear to be critical in the swealtering head of New Orleans.
The only time I've used the AC this year is when I have guests. My house is open and has good cross ventilation.
I replaced the windows in a 53 years old home in MD 5 years ago and I know it got me another $5000 in the sale price.
Hi Lisa
I too replaced my windows a couple of years ago and it's amazing how much lower the bills are. Plus being so hot here in Phoenix - the wndows were very HOT to the touch. Not anymore. Plus they look so nice!
Tax credits - people should be taking advantage of this right now and make some energy efficient changes.
We also replaced our windows and it made a huge difference, especially in the room with the "double" sliding glass door!
What a great story! As I read along I was hoping for a happy outcome, and you certainly got it. Good advice for anyone whose energy bills are high.
Way to go!
You should get someone in your sphere of influence who does siding & windows to reblog this...Especially maybe the guy who did them!
Nice with the link on the ee items too! Thank you! Nice job and congrats on the feature!
D
Wow, Lisa, That's quite a savings! I'm glad to hear they did a wonderful job with your windows too...it depends so much on how they install them. Good for you, I'm sure you're thrilled you didn't put it off any longer and they will pay for themselves!
Very nice Lisa !!
I did a similar thing with spray foam insulation which cut my energy bills too !
Good job !
Sheldon :o)
Hi Lisa,
You said it, itis astounding how much energy is lost through inefficient or single paned windows. You put your money in the right place. Good for you.
Kathy B
Lisa, 50%? That is amazing. WOW! Good for you. Sounds like those windows will pay for themselves sooner than expected.
I was just getting ready to replace the windows in my Mom's home when it sold...she had the old metal windows. Lucked out there :)
Congratulations on the feature. I've been so busy that I haven't been here much lately. Loved seeing your smiling face on the front page!
Lisa, thank you for sharing that and for letting folks know that being green SAVES GREEN. In addition to huge energy savings, double-hung windows add an extra measure of sound-blockage which can be especially nice if there are active kids or barking dogs nearby. What a great pay-back for you!
Lisa,
We built our home 15 years ago, and I have to admit, my heating and cooling are outreagous.
My windows suck!
I had our windows done too. I was amazed I couldn't hear the kids outside any more.
Excellent Lisa. Nothing like having first hand knowledge to share with consumers!
50% was certianly more than I would expecting... But cool... literally. And I know that we will need to be doing the same thing before long.
You know there are all kinds of things all of us can do to lower costs and some of them are very inexpensive. Thans for the post.
Lenn, we have very few days in the year when we can actually open the windows and let the house air out without it being too hot. The idea of not having to use the A/C is just a foreign concept to me! As far as resale, I've found that replacement windows are very high on a smart buyers list of things they are looking for.
Anna, I didn't know about the tax credit until my contractor told me about it. It will be bonus on top of the monthly savings we are already seeing.
Linda, those sliding doors can lose a LOT of air. We changed all of ours out to insulated french doors to help combat that.
Maureen, I was thrilled! I expected a reduction, but not that much...definitely doing the happy dance :)
One Source, if only they had a site...
Carole, I was kind of freaking out during the actual replacement. My house was a wreck with everything pulled away from every wall with a window and the dust was everywhere! The end result was well worth it though.
Sheldon, this whole project started because there is this new little person and her mom living in my house ;) How's the baby?
Kathy, it's made me look more closely at the homes I'm listing now to see if the comps have replacement windows vs original. Obviously, it's a great selling feature.
ERC, I haven't been here for awhile either - I was as shocked as you! LOL!
Risa, between the cinder block construction and the new windows, I hear very little outside noise now. That's been a nice side benefit that I didn't even think about.
Deborah, change them! We've been kicking ourselves for not doing this sooner.
Russ, that's a good thing, right?
Barb, yep :)
Lane, apparently there are different rules for the tax credit, so be sure that whatever you choose will give you the two-fer that I'm getting.
Norma, this one was not inexpensive, but it's paying off already.
Lisa ... you posted ... on Active Rain! Nice feature-grabbing work. Now I'm going back to actually read it.
Lisa- that is awesome that the savings was so great! We had some of our large palladian windows tinted last year. The difference in heat in the house was amazing. It kept in heat in the winter and kept cool in in the summer. Another good option, not quite as expensive.
Lisa, if I had to build my house OVER again, I would concentrate on the windows too even over our heat resistant roof decking.
Paul, you did too! Right back atcha on the feature :)
Kim, we are looking at that as an option for some odd shaped windows across the back of the house. Was it a window company that did it or a tinting company?
Gary, there are so many energy efficient ways to build a house now...my poor house might as well have been built by cavemen :)
Lisa, that is great news. We replaced the windows in our rental property but didn't get that kind of reduction.
Sharon
It sounds like this has been a great money saver for you, which makes it green in more than one way.
Hi Lisa -- Wow, I would be interesting in hearing what your break even period is, great post!
Wow Lisa ~ Truly amazing! I did not expect you to say you saved 50% on your very next electric bill! That is awesome and I bet you will be saving quite a bit come winter as well.
Lisa:
50% lower, wow! I would not have expected that. So have you calculated how many years it will take you to recover your cost with lower bills? Nice post!
Thanks for the questions...the recovery period for the cost of the windows looks to be less than 3 years! Since we don't have any plans to sell, we'll be seeing the benefits for quite some time.
50% reduction is HUGE! I wish mine had been like that. (It was just 10% or so..)
That is quite a savings Lisa! I bet you wish you did it long ago now:)
Absolutely true! Energy efficient windows are also a great selling feature!!
That's great. Sometimes people forget the little things.
I also live in an older home that the previous owners added "many additions". We had a issue recently where a roof leak caused a flood. That gave a an excuse to renovate the back end of the house. When we gutted the walls, we noticed that they had only insulated the roof (with the min. R factor) and didn't add insulation in the outside walls. We replaced the ceiling installation with the highest R factor and added installation to the outside walls. It made a huge difference. Our electric bills have always been high since this is sunny FL. That little bit dropped our bills 25%. We still need to replace all the back windows (the whole back is windows - big $$$) and I'm sure that would make another big drop. Energy savings upgrades pay off in the long run - worth the money.
Lenn - Wish I could get away without running our AC. Winters are great though, only run the heat maybe a couple times a year.
Wow Lisa! Thanks for passing on the tips from experience about your fantastic savings. I'm buying a 1950 "diamond in the rough" as well and replacing a couple of the windows as well as the single-paned sliding glass doors is high on the priority list. We did this in an all electric house that we owned (in France) as well as putting in electric roll-down shutters on all the windows and sliding glass doors. What a difference in comfort, savings and resale value!
Have you weather stripped around and under all your exterior door? You'd be surprised how much you can save in a year by this very inexpensive and easy to do task.
Thanks for the inspiration! We have been in our house for 5 years and something else always gets done first. I'm going to check around for pricing.
Lisa - Ever since we replaced our windows it has for sure payed for itself in my heating bills.
Luckily because of our rainy/cool summer that we are being blessed with, this has not affected our a/c bills ....
I've only had to use the a/c a few times this year. Only hit 90 degrees once since April....
Great post and congrats on the feature. You deserve it.
Thank you so much for great article. I didn't realize the savings would be that great. It really grounds what I tell my clients is that yes you pay higher property tax on newer homes but the additional money could easily be eaten up in the utilities. So if you are going to buy an older home look into insulating better and changing windows, resealing and all that good energy efficent upgrades.
I have a 1950's house and I have longed for new windows for years. My two stumbling blocks are: 1)there are too many choices and 2) how do you select someone to do the work. Can you share the brand and features of the windows that you selected and suggestions for picking a contractor to do the work. I had an energy audit done on my house where they caulked all the windows, sealed all the water lines, secured the duct work to the plentum and registers and weatherstripped all the doors. It was paid for by a government grant. The man in charge told me the crank style windows on the front of my house were the greatest energy drain in my house. The program provided good information and a valuable "honey do" list of improvements. My next project is the windows. Thank you for any suggestions.
Dana, I had those crank out casement windows too and they were ugly and allowed so much air loss from the house. When we decided to replace them, I used a reputable, local general contractor (that I've worked with in the past) who in turn lined up the window installer. It was the window guy that recommended what would work best in my house and told me about the energy credits. Check out the links in the post and you'll find the government guidelines for what is eligible for the credit. I really relied on the expertise of the person I hired.
It sounds like it was something that needed to be done. But how much did it cost you to get those savings. That is always one of the questions I look at. I do not think solar has taken off yet because it is not cost effective.
We installed new windows because of cold winters (when the wind blew, the curtains would move with the windows closed!). But still need to battle the heat. I've heard good things about attic fans or whole house fans, so that's next for us.
But I want to say something about crank-out casement windows - yes, the old ones were bad. But when we were choosing our windows we did the research and found that the crank-out windows seal tighter than the others.(Plus, we think they look cool, especially in older homes) When we sell, i hope everyone doesn't automatically assume the windows are of the same poor quality as they were 50 years ago. It's kind of like those people who won't have wood floors because they're hard to take care of, but their last experience with them was in 1960.
Gene, it's not just the initial cost of the windows...it's a two fold savings after the fact. (1) I'm using less energy, which should be everyone's goal with the limited amount of resources we have and (2) by using less energy I'm spending less money every month. Since we don't plan to sell, we will pay for the windows in less than 3 years based on the monthly savings we are experiencing immediately. If we were to sell, the windows add to the value of the house. Win-win.
Hey Lisa, Those new windows were definitely a good investment!
Have a great weekend,
Anne Rains
Joetta, I didn't even know they made new crank out windows! Are they well insulated and energy efficient? As for battling the heat, isn't that what air conditioning is for? LOL!
Lisa,
I have two window companies "for sale". They both have so much business, that they can't takle any more bookings this year.
Their view is that things cannot really get any better, so selling the company actually makes sense.
Brian
What a happy ending, Lisa-hooray! Your story has motivated (reminded) me to look into that with my crank-out windows. Thank you for the links, and have a great weekend!
Contratulations on the energy savings! My brother and I replaced 14 windows in his house last year and a day and a half. He paid someone to wrap the windows but we installed them ourselves for a huge savings!
Lisa,
Great savings. Today's windows can really make a budget-favorable impact on homeowners. The initial cost can be a concern, but long-term savings will more than cover that.
Smart choice - and such wonderful results! You should see even more savings at tax time!
Very good advice to anyone with an older home, and with the tax break it's almost brain dead!
Very nice post today with good tips for sure. Thanks for sharing w/ AR
Patricia Aulson/[portsmouth nh real estate
I've been reading some very discouraging blogs this evening regarding economic forecasts and blogs going back on forth on legal lines being crosssed, I am so happy to read a "good news blog". Good job finally getting the windows installed!
What a signifcant savings....what did you do with it? I too am excited to see a few posts from you on AR! I won't jinx it & say "welcome back" though. :P
An, that's such a nice comment. Thank you so much.
LOL @ Kristin...thanks :)
My first home was a 100+ yr old farm house with the original single pane glass. It was so drafty that you often couldn't tell if the window was open or closed. After replacing the windows we not only saved $ and were more comfortable, but the kids were no longer constantly walking around with the sniffles. Good move.
That's amazing. It's incredible how much you can save with energy efficiency. I had a similar experience with shower heads and sink aerators, but the windows have yet to be replaced.