Home Improvement Glossary for LAS Windows & Shutters

A voluntary partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the fenestration industry to promote sales of energy- efficient windows. The program establishes three climate regions with one recommended product designation for each region. All ENERGY STAR™ windows must be NFRC-rated, certified and labeled for both U-factor and solar heat gain coefficient.

An insulated glass unit in which one internal piece of glass is covered (laminated) with an organic film. The film gives the glass an added degree of resistance to breakage.

Microscopically thin, virtually invisible metal or metallic oxide layers deposited on a window glazing surface and sealed in an insulated glass unit to reduce the u-factor by suppressing radioactive heat-flow through the window.

Powder coating is a 100% solid coating. It is applied by an electrostatic process. Subsequently transformed by heating into a continuous film fused to the metal.

A measure of a product’s ability to resist the transfer of thermal energy. The inverse of U – factor (R=1/U), R-value is expressed in units of hr-sq. ft-1/4f/Btu. A high R-value window has grater resistance to heat-flow and a higher insulating value that one with a low R-value.

The fraction of solar radiation transmitted through a window expressed as a percentage. The lower a window’s SHGC, the less solar heat it transmits and the greater its shading ability. SHGC can be expressed in terms of the glass alone or can refer to the entire window assembly. Generally, a lower SHGC is desirable in warm climates, and a higher SHGC is desirable in cold ones. SHGC has replaced shading coefficient (SC) as the standard indicator.

The rate at which a window conducts non-solar heat flow. The lower the U-factor, the more energy-efficient the window.

Julia,
On behalf of Lighthouse Louisiana (formerly The Lighthouse for the Blind), please convey my thanks once again to your coworkers for supporting our summer camp for children who are blind. It is a rare thing to see a corporate family like yours, where people get together and give from their own hard-earned paychecks to local groups that are doing good work in the community. As donors, sometimes it’s hard to know what donations to organizations we care about are actually being used for. We consider LAS an important investor in our work, and we cannot thank you enough for helping us serve our clients.

Thank you,
Erin McQuade Wright
Director of Development

We just finished getting new windows from LAS and I can’t be any happier. From start to finish, this job was done professionally. The salesman, Garrett, came to the house on time and explained the windows and the process and answered any questions that we had at the time. He indicated the person who would do the measurements would call and set up an appointment within two weeks and the the windows would be built and installed in about 5 weeks. Well, the job – from the initial estimate to complete install – was three weeks. The installed that completed the job did an excellent job of install, caulking and cleanup. We can’t give them a higher rating. The most amazing thing so far is the look and how much it has cut down on outside noise. I highly recommend LAS and since they are local, from repairs to employing people, we keep it right here at home. We are very satisfied customers.