Replacement windows, priced in the open
Same idea as the doors. The price is on the page, the U-factor is on the page, and the NFRC certification number is on the page. In Omaha the typical installed window runs about $750. Ours start at $495.
Windows are the one product where the certification actually exists
On garage doors, not a single Chinese factory holds a US test certification. On windows the opposite is true. Multiple Guangdong manufacturers are listed in the NFRC Certified Products Directory, which is the only rating path US energy codes and ENERGY STAR accept.
NFRC certified
Every window we sell carries an NFRC label showing U-factor, SHGC and visible transmittance, and a CPD number you can verify yourself at search.nfrc.org. We publish the number. Most companies will not even tell you the U-factor.
Built for Zone 5
Nebraska is IECC Climate Zone 5. The code floor is U 0.30. ENERGY STAR in the Northern zone requires U 0.22 or lower. We buy to the ENERGY STAR number, not the code minimum, because the difference on a negative 5 degree morning is real.
Vinyl frames, deliberately
Our standard line is uPVC vinyl, not aluminum. Vinyl insulates far better, it is what actually gets you to U 0.22, and it sidesteps a tariff problem on aluminum that we explain below.
Six window types, all installed prices
Double Hung
Both sashes tilt in for cleaning. Double pane, argon, low-E, warm edge spacer.
In stock in OmahaCasement
Cranks outward and compresses against the frame, which is why it is the tightest window you can buy.
In stock in OmahaHorizontal Slider
Slides side to side. Good where an outward swing would hit a walkway or a deck.
In stock in OmahaPicture
Fixed, does not open. No moving parts means no air leakage path, so this is the best performing unit in the range.
In stock in OmahaAwning
Hinged at the top and cranks out from the bottom. Stays open in rain. Common over kitchen sinks and in basements.
In stock in OmahaBay
Three unit assembly projecting from the wall. Requires a head and seat board and, in most cases, structural support.
3 to 4 weeksWhy our windows are vinyl and not aluminum
Two reasons, and the second one is the kind of thing most companies would not put on a website.
Vinyl performs better. Aluminum is an excellent conductor of heat, which is exactly what you do not want in a window frame. Even a thermally broken aluminum system typically lands around U 0.35 to 0.55. That passes code at 0.30 only at the very top of the range, and it does not reach the ENERGY STAR number of 0.22 at all. Getting an aluminum window to 0.22 requires triple glazing and a deep polyamide thermal break, and at that point you have spent more than a vinyl window that got there easily.
Aluminum carries a tariff problem. The United States has had antidumping and countervailing duty orders on aluminum extrusions from China in force since 2011. The China-wide antidumping rate is currently 86 percent, with countervailing duty on top. Aluminum window frames are named in the order as covered merchandise.
A vinyl window contains no aluminum extrusion. The problem does not apply. That is not a clever workaround, it is simply a different product, and it happens to be the better one for a Nebraska winter.
If you want aluminum anyway
Some contemporary designs really do call for a narrow aluminum sightline, and we can supply it. Two conditions.
It ships as a complete unit with the glass already installed, never as a bare frame, because that is what keeps it outside the antidumping order.
And you accept a U-factor around 0.32 to 0.38 rather than 0.22. It will pass Nebraska code. It will not qualify for ENERGY STAR. We would rather tell you that in advance than have you find out from the label.
What to ask any window company
- What is the NFRC CPD number for this exact product line?
- What is the U-factor and SHGC of the configuration you are quoting?
- Is the air leakage number on the label? It is an optional test and most factories skip it.
- Is this window ENERGY STAR certified in the Northern zone, or just code compliant?
Every window price is on one page
Sizes, upgrades, whole-house pricing and the U-factor for each line.
See window prices