Would an investment in new, energy- efficient windows make sense for you?

[Frugal Doug]

I hear radio ads where companies promise energy savings of 40% if you just buy their windows. This may sound great, but before you rush to the phone, you need to do your own cost analysis.

Let's say you need 10 new Windows at a cost of $180 each installed. This means your total investment will be around $1800. If new energy-efficient windows will cut your heating bill by 40% and it averages $120 per month, your potential savings are $48 per month. Next, divide your investment -- $1800 -- by $48 and you'll see that it will take about 37 1/2 months for you to get a payback on your investment. If, like most of us, you have heating bills for only five months of the year, the actual amount of time it will take you to get a payback and start saving money is somewhere around seven years.

So the first question you need to ask yourself is how long will you be living in your house? If the answer is seven years or less, new energy-efficient windows probably won't make sense for you.

There are, of course, many variables. If your heating bill averages $200 a month or more and you can trim it by 40% with an $1800 investment, then new windows might make sense for you.

But the important thing is to do your own cost analysis before you let one of those window companies sweet talk you into a major investment.

Frugal Doug

[Katybird]

Thanks for the great food for thought. It really makes me take a different look at energy efficient windows. We have been thinking of installing them within the near future but I will take a second look now.