Bought a new crib. Need to streamline our lifestyle a bit due to bad economy, etc. Cheaper to buy than build. Still sizing up the new (to us) house. Haven’t actually closed yet – Friday. House was built in 2005, and at that time Low-E windows weren’t required by code. House has some other energy related upgrades like sealed crawl space and radiant barrier roof sheathing.
Anyway, take a look at the attached pic. Are those low-E windows?
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Replies
If there is no markings on the window, short of drilling a hole and testing the gas, don't know how you can tell.
Maybe I be wrong, but my understanding is that low E comes from the coating on the glass. Which side of which piece depending on climate variablities.seems the stenciled corner would indicate...
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You can tell by how they look. I'm no expert though. I do know from expierence that if you install a non-low-E sash in a double hung window frame that has the other sash low-E it the difference is easily noticable.
There probably is some very tiney text in the corner of the glass, but I don't think it will say "Low-E". I think you need to get the window mfg to decode it. At this point, I'm not even sure who the window mfg is.
Looking at the pic I posted, the glass appears to be pretty tinted. Why would it be tinted if not Low-E?
Edited 6/1/2009 7:49 am ET by Matt
Hold a match or candle to the glass. You should see 4 images of the flame. One will be discolored if low e film is present. The position of that diff. color will tell you what surface the e-coating is on.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Did you just make that up? :-)
Seriously, neat trick.... when you say >> You should see 4 images of the flame. << does that mean in the reflection, or as you look through from the other side of the sash?
Strike the match, hold match up to the glass (inside or the outside too I imagine). View from the same side. Yes, it will be the reflection and there will be 4 with dbl pane/6 with triple.
No test for gas, tho you used to be able to see what appears as the bottom of a pop rivet in the division strip.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
How cool is that!
Pretty darn cool when the Marvin rep told me about it 20 yrs ago. I questioned low e on a single unit that was delivered to my home with the rest of the whole house order. However, somebody else's name was on the unit. The supplier had a miss order and stuck that one in my package. Low and behold, no miscolored flame image.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
IIRC the "glass guy" (Oberon sp?) has posted more details on this and what all different types and combinations will show in that test..
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe
that's 3 images, the low e is only on 1 piece of glass (at least in this climate), and 1 additional reflection for each piece of glass ..
Wane, the reflection appears on each side of the glass. 2 pcs of glass, 2 images each.
Try it.
edit: If you look dead on straight exactly perfect.........you probably only see 1 image. Slide that head over just a bit.
A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Edited 6/1/2009 8:49 am ET by calvin
I tried it on a window that I knew was low-e. The furthest away image looked more orange. It will be several days until I can try it on the "new" house. Good trick!
It should not be the furthest image, but the second or third reflection that will show a different color.At least, AFAIK, all Low-E coatings are on the inside of the insulated glass unit. So, the outer flame is the plane exposed to the elements and the side, I believe, that would not be coated.
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
Matt,
Jon's got it right. The image difference should be on one of the two middle ones. If the last one looks diff..........the "e" would be on the exterior and scratchoffable.
Try it at night, a little easier to view than in daylight.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
I saw 2 reflected images. The one that appeared furtherst from me looked more orange. They were double pane windows. I checked a few different windows. I think the glass surfaces that are facing you are the ones that reflect. So in a double pain insulated window, of the 4 surfaces, the 2 surfaces facing away don't reflect the image, only the 2 facing toward you.
Matt, that may be the way it is in Sunny Raleigh, but up here in Ohio, if you have two pcs of glass, you got 4 flame images.
I suppose with those old style insul units where the spacer was maybe a qtr inch, the images might be jambed up close and appear as only two.
Please, put down the beer and check again.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
OK - you got me on all counts - except that tonight's beer helped me see clearer.. ;-)
Actually there are 4 images and the 2 back images are rather dim and much more visable at night - like now - not like earlier in "sunny Raleigh". And John is right - the 2 back images are definately of a blueish-green hugh. BTW - my current house has low-e I know because I paid the bucks $$$ back 10 years ago when they weren't that popular.
I still have to wait until I get over to the new crib. Thursday or Friday...
I was hoping someone could just tell from the pics. In the pic, they do look "tinted" doen't they??
BTW - the owner of the new (to me) house is a doctor so likely may not know what kind of windows they are. Also the house was occupied by a renter (their nanny and her BF). Besides, I don't think the owner wants to talk to me.... after the low ball offer they were practically forced to take... :-)
My work here is done.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Matt,I just tested several insulated glass units. All of the double pane lites showed four reflections, the triple pane units showed six reflections. The inner and outer reflection of the individual pieces of glass are pretty close to each other, if you're not looking at the right angle they will appear to be the same reflection.The proportions of the distance between the images are something like this (each "|" represents a reflection):|..|.............|..|A 9 lite exterior door, with no Low-E, shows no flame color change. An Andersen gliding door shows the Low-E on the inside of the outer pane. My windows show the inner side of the inside pane as being coated with Low-E. A triple pane sample shows the surfaces towards the inside of the outer and middle panes as being Low-E coated.In all of my experience, the color change of the reflection takes on a blue hue. You're Low-E coating may be a different material, but that's what I've seen.
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
If you look dead on straight exactly perfect ... you might be a moth."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Shoot, some of 'em here......
if they look dead #### 'd straight and it's a mirror.....
they drop dead of fright.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
The garage door lights are in a really odd position, what's the story with those?
>> The garage door lights are in a really odd position, what's the story with those? <<
Yea - I think I noticed that but hadn't given it a second thought.... Can you come over and correct that for me? :-)
Edited 6/1/2009 10:34 pm ET by Matt