Windows, Part 10
energy credit is so small - compared to what that window will cost you -- that it is
essentially nonsense. So if you are not all that eager to let your home look like an
gangland low rider lime green Honda Civic DX with oddly tinted windows, it might be
best to forgo the rebate.
Many of these window brands come with a “self cleaning” capability. It does in fact
work. It is not a complete fraud. This coating is applied to the exterior surface of the
glass and usually only on the side facing the outside of the home. The coating is
invisible. In fact it is so invisible that special electronic tools are sold to window
installers so that they can determine which side of the window has the special coating.
Some years ago the Japanese discovered that when a piece of glass is coated with
titanium it takes on special qualities. When sunlight (the ultra violet light part of the light
actually) hits the coated glass there is a chemical reaction between the titanium and
anything it is touching.
This chemical reaction slowly destroys the mechanical bond between the window dirt
and the titanium coated surface of the glass. This chemical reaction also kills viruses
and bacteria. If you took titanium coated glass and made a water pitcher out of it then
in a few hours the water inside would be sterilized by this chemical reaction. It’s all true.
Also, the titanium is a very hard surface. It is also quite smooth. Dirt has a harder time
sticking to the titanium coated glass. American glass companies have licensed this
technology from the Japanese. Another place you see this very same titanium
technology is in the “lifetime” polish on some brands of brass bathroom fixtures and
door hardware. It’s not brass, it’s a super thin coating of titanium or zirconium using a
similar process.
The salesman may try to get you to have sparkling grids put into
your windows. He will charge you an extra $100 per window. What
you are actually getting is a half inch wide line of silver tape
(maybe a total length of twenty feet) stuck to one interior side
of one pane of glass - for $100. How much is twenty feet of silver
colored Scotch Tape ( it's probably actually a 3M product) worth
to you?
These dual pane windows will have frames made of vinyl or fiberglass.
If they are made of vinyl then they will be white. Vinyl is really
just glorified sprinkler pipe plastic and it softens or even melts
in the hot sun. By selling only white windows the company does
not face the risk of the sun heating it enough to get it to melt.
Yes, if you go off and paint that window frame black then next
summer you might discover the dynamics of “free form”
shapes and naturally sun-articulated / drip-looking window openings.
