PAGE 25 SUPPLEMENT TO THE McHENRY PLAINDEALER-WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 1976 rrtUL 49 durrLiira^i iv IIIL wivnow i * ^ Make sure your windows have their iThermal Factors9 on Will .your windows be out-of-date soon? That question may have seemed absurd a few years ago, when energy costs were much lbwer, but -- these days -- It's a sound economic question every homeowner should face. Aluminum #mdow manufacturers, working closely with government agencies, have come up with the answer to a logi cal question--how to meas ure the efficiency or "per formance" of windows. Now, thanks to newly- adopted voluntary stand ards by dozens of alu minum window manufac turers, you can get a "Thermal Factor" for a window, just as you get an air conditioner's BTU. In brief, the "Thermal Factor" tells you every thing you always wanted to know about your win dows' efficiency. It rates thermal windows up to a maximum of 60 for effec tiveness in fighting heat loss or gain. New data by the Archi tectural Aluminum Manu facturers Association con firms that thermalised aluminum windows with half-Inch insulated glass which meet the new standards will: • • save 35% to 42% compared to single glazed window or aluminum win dows, and • 9% to 17% compared to double-glazed, locally- assembled wood windows or non-thermal aluminum windows. Both industry and'gov ernment are moving rap idly to make this money- saving innovation avail able to homeowners: (1) the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) Research Foun dation has verified the energy conservation bene fits of the new thermal aluminum windows; (2) the FHA/HUD has transmitted these volun tary standards to 23 of its northern field offices; (3) dozens of manufac turers are producing win dows to meet the new standards; and (4) an independent laboratory has been set up to qualify the new thermal windows. The new windows pro vide resistance to neat loss (winter) and heat gain (summer) by utiliz ing (1) "thermal barriers" or air spaces, (2) dual glass panes and superior construction methods, and (8) weatherstripping. The use of these new standards will have a sig nificant impact on energy conservation, says Frank Oorell, president of Sea son-all Industries, Inc., •the largest makers of storm windows and doors and replacement windows 'in the uJ3. Mr. Oorell, who is also a member of the Construc tion Advisory Committee of the FEA, points.out: "Tests -- verified by NA HB research -- show that a house in, say, Chicago, could cut .fuel oil costs about $70 a year with the new thermal windows compared to single glazed windows. Savings of an additional 25% could be realized in a house in Min neapolis, for example. Gorell's Season-all In dustries, one of the first to comply with the volun tary standards, makes the Nuprime Optima 135 alu minum replacement win dows which scored 58 out of 60 possible points for efficiency. (The Nuprimes are made to replace exist ing worn-out or inefficient windows in all sizes.) This means, authorities say, significant savings in fuel and the absence of condensation on windows when inside relative hu midity stays below the maximum recommended by building'authorities. The new standards, 10 years in development and testing with the urging of HUD/FHA, are volun tary now but may be come mandatory soon. Says Oorell: "More and more Americans are real izing that saving energy is important to them -- and to the country. They wouldn't dream today of buying an air conditioner without efficiency ratings/ They must use the same care in buying windows which, after all, pay for themselves in fuel savings and demand a thermal rating which is their guide to efficiency." Save money, save energy- --invest in air Would you believe that you can cut down on your annual heating and codl ing Mils just by trapping something as common- . place as the air around us? It's true -- according to the energy experts at the Home Institute, certain- teed Products Corporation, Valley Forge, Pa. You do it by capturing air inside six-inch thick batts of fiber glass insulation which you lay on the attic floor between the joists. Fiber glass insulation has millions of tiny air pockets per inch, each be coming an insulator in its own right. The cumulative effectiveness of all of thi* air creates a barrier against exterior weather . conditions, so that heat flow through the insula tion 1s virtually elimi nated. • The transfer of heat through any material, such as fiber glass insula tion, is designated by an "R"-Value. The higher the R-value, the better the material is as an insu lator. For, minimum energy savings you should have enough insulation in the attic to produce an RT19 rating.. You can achieve that rating with six inches of fiber glass batt insula tion or over eiaht inches of loose fill insulation. R-values are cumulative -- so adding an R-19 batt to three and one half inches (R-ll) of insula tion already in the attic will give you a rating of R-30. The additional insu lation will help pay for itself in energy savings in about three years in most areas. lUnernu WINDOW t (MIL DECOR S hutters custom made by Joanna Western. H inging, trimming and customizing of Unfinished panels in our shop daily. Ten hundred (1,000) shutters are stocked in The movable louver and insert styles. Estimates, shop-at-home-service and Remeasuring are always a free service. S butter Hut will install them too! SAFETY FIRST should be your prim storing medicines Harsh cleaning compounds in the bathroom. Avoid staring them under sinks er in an la chad cabinets where children and pets may accidentally get at them. Better yet, avoid using harsh products altogether. Far example, use Drain Power, the first drain opener to use pressure to clear clogged drains, instead of using dangerous crystal and liquid drain cleaners that contain harmful lyes or acids. Daily 9:30-5:30 Closed Sunday 815-344-1888 Also Custom Draperies, Woven Woods, Window Shades, Mini-blinds, Wallpaper and Jewel Custom Paint. Sp--a Rt. 12 Just No. Rt. 120 Volo, Illinois has TO GROW ON A FINE ASSORTMENT OF VEGETABLE SEED CHOICE OF QUALITY LAWN & GARDEN FOOD SELECTION OF STURDY LAWN & GARDEN TOOLS PLAN YOUR GARDEN NOW as: 3720 W. Elm St McHenry And* MUM* • •« 8-- wA*- -»-A 8