What Makes a Green Window?

If you've been watching Greensburg, you may have heard the Greensburg residents mention their windows when they're rebuilding their houses green. Can a window really be green?it's just a plate of glass, right? Well, not exactly. It turns out some windows are made greener than others.

For starters, there are windows that are decidedly not green?like these new electrically heated windows. The idea behind these bad boys was to increase the size of the windows while decreasing the amount of cold they let in. This brings us to the first determining factor of the greenness of a window: Its size.

This may seem obvious, but the bigger the window, the more outdoor climate it lets in?forcing you to amp the heat in the cold months. Avoid installing huge windows, tempting as it may be to get that killer view, to cut down on energy expenditure. However, placement is an issue too?a well positioned window, say, one angled towards the sun for the bulk of the day (hello, skylight!) can help naturally heat the house.

Finally, what the window is made out of is a factor, too?vinyl windows are popular and cheap, but PVC (what vinyl's made of) is harmful to the environment. But insulation is important in cutting energy usage, and sometimes vinyl is a good quick fix. Wood and aluminum are alternatives, but what is best is still up for debate.