“Steven hates the air conditioner,” Gwen said, rolling her eyes at her husband.
“I do not hate the air conditioner!” Steven protested. “I just hate how much energy it uses. That’s money we could use for something else. Something fun. Like a motorcycle.”
“He’s great at coming up with ways to get money for his motorcycle fund,” Gwen said. “But I have to admit that he was right about the vinyl replacement windows.”
One sultry Hanover summer evening, when the air conditioner was running full blast, Steven had Gwen join him outside. “It was so hot!” she said. “Like 95 degrees. It was ridiculous.” When she complained about the heat, Steven had Gwen stand in front of the family’s picture window. “It was like standing in front of the freezer with the door open!” she said. “All of this cool air was just shooting out of our house, like the window wasn’t even there.”
Like many homes in this part of Massachusetts, Steven and Gwen’s place was built in the late 60’s. Some renovations had been done over the years, but the windows they had were hardly up to date. “When it was cold, you could definitely feel some drafts,” Gwen said. “I really didn’t think too much of it – we are in New England, after all! – but after feeling all the A. C. leaking out, I had to wonder, what’s happening to our heat?”
Both cooled air and heated air can escape easily through leaky windows. Industry estimates vary slightly, but on average, a homeowner can expect to lose between a quarter to over a half of all their cooled or heated air through sub-standard windows. “We worked with a Hanover replacement window company to do the upgrade,” Steven explained. “I wanted windows that were both affordable and that looked good. I have to say we were very pleased.”
“And when the utility bills started coming down, you’d better believe he socked the savings away in his motorcycle fund,” Gwen laughed. “So he’s pretty happy about that as well!”