Washington Replacement Window Tips

The average temperatures in Washington do not fluctuate to extremes throughout the year. A good set of fiberglass replacement windows in Washington is perfect for the climate, which will help you save on energy, and will last you twice as long as any vinyl window.

Understanding how to read NFCR rating labels will help you choose the windows that performs best for Washington climate. NFRC is an independent rating standard that is based on U-Factor, Solar Heat Gain Coefficient, Air Leakage, and Visible Transmittance. It might seem technical, but the label is easy to understand as long as you know what to look for. Below we will show you how to read and choose windows using the NFRC rating label.

Its also important to know your regional color. Energystar breaks up the continental US into 4 color groups (Northern, North-Central, South-Central, and Southern) to help homeowners understand how a product needs to perform for maximum energy efficiency for their regional area.

These ratings are important to your investment that if you’re considering a set of windows that don’t have an NFRC label, then I wouldn’t consider buying them.

NFRC Ratings for Washington

U-Factor SHGC Air Leakage
Windows: U ≤ 0.30
Windows: U = 0.31
Windows: U = 0.32
Skylights: U ≤ 0.55
No requirement
Windows: SHGC ≥ 0.35
Windows: SHGC ≥ 0.40
Windows: AL ≤ 0.30
Skylights: AL ≤  0.30

NFRC Rating Label Example for Washington

Replacement windows with ratings suitable for the Northern or Blue regional group as seen on the Energy Star map will work, and you want windows for Washington climate with NFRC ratings similar to this example. U-factor of the windows in the label is 0.27 consistent with the table above recommendation of (Windows: U ≤ 0.30). The Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) rating of the window is 0.35 consistent with the tables (Windows: SHGC ≥0.35) recommendation, and Air Leakage of ≤ 0.30consistent with the recommendation of (Windows: AL ≤ 0.30).