Electric Bill in summer months?

[hokiepoke]

I looked into windows as well when we first moved in last year. I got those same cheapy contractor single pane windows. After our first year so far and looking at all the electric monthly bills, it wouldn't make any sense to replace the windows in order to save on energy cost given the probably very little in saving and not much ROI to recoup the cost. If I do it, it's more for aesthetic and maybe security than to save money. Our home insurance person told us we'd save probably $200-250/yr if we do all the windows and even then, we would also have to replace the garage door too to a hurricane type to fully qualify for that discount and then actually told us it wasn't worth it. From an energy standpoint, best scenario I see on a worst summer month is maybe $50-$75 savings but that's not even year round. It would take a long time to recover the estimated $12-15k cost estimates so far to replace all the windows/sliding doors with impact type. We actually had a window sales guy come by and he gave us all the sales/FUD talk about needing windows to stop flying branches during hurricane. I kind of laughed and told him to look out the windows at all the big gigantic trees around the neighborhood, trees that will probably come down and crush the houses if there's a real hurricane and the windows will probably the only thing left intact in somebody else's yard miles away. The way I figure it, these were original windows when the house was built in 1985 so it's been nearly 30 yrs and hasn't need to change yet. There's no urgency yet on my part to change it unless I want to and got some extra money burning a hole in my pocket.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by hokiepoke

I looked into windows as well when we first moved in last year. I got those same cheapy contractor single pane windows. After our first year so far and looking at all the electric monthly bills, it wouldn't make any sense to replace the windows in order to save on energy cost given the probably very little in saving and not much ROI to recoup the cost. If I do it, it's more for aesthetic and maybe security than to save money. Our home insurance person told us we'd save probably $200-250/yr if we do all the windows and even then, we would also have to replace the garage door too to a hurricane type to fully qualify for that discount and then actually told us it wasn't worth it. From an energy standpoint, best scenario I see on a worst summer month is maybe $50-$75 savings but that's not even year round. It would take a long time to recover the estimated $12-15k cost estimates so far to replace all the windows/sliding doors with impact type. We actually had a window sales guy come by and he gave us all the sales/FUD talk about needing windows to stop flying branches during hurricane. I kind of laughed and told him to look out the windows at all the big gigantic trees around the neighborhood, trees that will probably come down and crush the houses if there's a real hurricane and the windows will probably the only thing left intact in somebody else's yard miles away. The way I figure it, these were original windows when the house was built in 1985 so it's been nearly 30 yrs and hasn't need to change yet. There's no urgency yet on my part to change it unless I want to and got some extra money burning a hole in my pocket.

This is pretty much how I am looking at it. It's just not worth it. Would rather have my cash now, than hope I make it back in 15 years.....when we probably won't even be living in this house anyhow.

[ExNooYawk]

Originally Posted by ghostrider7811

Old Thread, I just got my power bill in Land O Lakes for $360.00
2400 sq ft 2 story. Wow, we keep the ac about 76 degrees.
3 kids, 2 adults.
The upstair bedrooms stay hot, we have portable ac units in them to help.
I think it is new unit time, house is 15 years old

Ghost, do you have an attic? In our house in California, the upstairs was always a lot warmer than downstairs. We put in a 'Solatube' which is like an attic fan, running on solar power. What a difference that made! You might be able to put one in without an attic but would have to consult with the company. See what options there are before moving. I could have used additional air conditioners upstairs but didn't want to incur the expense. With these little attic fans (solar powered!), we didn't have to.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

[ExNooYawk]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

This is pretty much how I am looking at it. It's just not worth it. Would rather have my cash now, than hope I make it back in 15 years.....when we probably won't even be living in this house anyhow.

Are any tax breaks available for homeowners who put in new windows? It might be worth looking into. Even if you don't recover the entire cost, it's another consideration as an offset to your tax bill.