As a homeowner who lives in south Florida or in another area where bad weather and hurricanes can seem like the normal thing to happen, you may need to be careful about the types of windows that you choose. While you could choose plywood to help, many choose certain types of windows to help keep their homes protected.
Two options that you may want to consider are impact windows and hurricane windows, but are they the same and how are they different.
While some may use the two terms interchangeably, impact windows are not going to be exactly the same as hurricane windows. The main difference is the level of resistance that these two windows are able to offer to your home, explains Sarasota Home Windows. They have plenty of experience with hurricane home windows in Sarasota.
Hurricane windows, for example, will offer less insulation to the home compared to impact windows. Their primary job is to resist wind damage and keep the home safe. Impact windows provide a little less protection but are strong enough to withstand quite a bit.
Let’s take a closer look at these two types of windows to discover how they work when you would need each one, and which of the two is right for your home.
Impact windows are not going to be the same thing as hurricane windows. There are several different ways that these two windows are going to be different from one another, though there are plenty of people who will assume that they are the same and may use the names interchangeably.
The first thing to consider is the level of resistance that these two windows are going to offer. Hurricane windows will not provide the same kind of insulation that the impact windows can due to the fact that their primary job is to resist damage from the wind.
They will not do a lot to help protect the windows and home against projectiles or other unwanted intruders and they are not good for keeping the noise out of the home.
Impact windows can be much better for this. There are several types of impact windows that you can choose from and these are identified by the way the laminated glass panes are bonded together with the interlayer. The two types that you may notice are:
When you are installing these impact windows on your home, you should consider replacing the whole window system rather than trying to retrofit them into the frame that you already have. While the latter may sound like a good idea at the time, these windows need to have a stronger window frame to make sure they have the strength that you are looking for.
Your impact windows are not going to provide you with the protection that you need if you do not pair them up with an equally strong window frame. This adds in some more of the stability that you need and can be worth the extra money that you need to pay during installation.
There are a lot of benefits to choosing these kinds of windows. First, they are going to do some wonders at protecting against strong winds and other things flying around. Compared to hurricane windows, these will also do a great job at making it hard for projectiles and even vandals to get through the window, which makes them good to use all year long, not just during hurricane season.
Another benefit with these is that they provide some more insulation. This can help to lower the amount that you will pay in utilities through the year, keeping the cool air from that air conditioner going into the home rather than out.
And when it comes to the noise outside of your home, either from the neighbors or from the storm, these windows do have an extra layer of protection that can keep that noise out and makes your home more comfortable than before. All of these come together to make impact windows a much better choice.
While many homeowners may assume that they will need to work with hurricane windows to keep safe during hurricane season, you may actually find that the impact windows are a much better option to choose. They provide more strength and can insulate against the elements and the noise around you all at the same time. Choosing these windows just makes sense during the bad weather as well.
