If you're like many homeowners, you have a blossoming desire to bring the outdoors in-and to expand your living spaces onto porches, decks and courtyards. Carefully planning the style of windows and doors in your home is an important step in creating a seamless transition from the inside comfort of your home to the natural beauty of its surroundings.

"Transitional spaces between the home and garden invite residents to spend more quality time outdoors," says award-winning garden designer and host of the public television program "P. Allen Smith's Garden Home," P. Allen Smith.

He says regardless of your neighborhood or the type of house you have, you can use the windows and doors in your home to take full advantage of what nature has to offer.

Smith suggests planning your home in a way that maximizes your views, increases natural light and provides easy access to outdoor entertaining. When he recently built his own garden home retreat, he focused on these areas and used windows and doors made by Marvin Windows and Doors. Here's a closer look:

• Bi-fold doors, which open up accordion-style, provide a vast opening that maximizes the amount of warm, natural sunlight in a room and perfectly complements outdoor entertaining.

• Frame stunning views of landscapes with large picture windows. Marvin offers a Venting Picture Window that provides the unique combination of unobstructed views and cross-ventilation to bring in the fresh air.

• Sliding patio doors are a traditional option when planning a backyard deck or courtyard. Choose a four-panel door for a greater expanse of glass and a larger opening. Also look for top-hung panels for smooth operation and dual-point locks for security.

"For several years now I have been touting the idea of the garden home, a place that blurs the lines between indoors and out, expanding our living space into the garden and our garden into our homes. My garden home retreat is my expression of this concept," said Smith.


Window Replacement

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I've got a confession to make. I am an energy waster by every definition of the word. My house leaks heat and energy at every crack. I drive too fast and my car doesn't get very good gas mileage. Guess what? In 2005, this has come back to haunt me (in the form of increased utilites and gas bills). One of the best things you can do for your home is replace your windows with the new styles that have come out in the last decade or so. If you have windows several decades old (like most of us do), a huge amount of energy is lost every single day through your windows. The upfront cost is well worth the investment to save you some serious heating and cooling money down the road.

1) Do a search for 'energy efficient windows.' Here's the problem. You might be searching for the wrong stuff. 'Replacement windows' might be what you think you want, but 'energy efficiency' is really what you want. More money in your pocket is better regardless of the terminology. Make sure you are using the correct search terms.

2) Use multiple information resources to compare possible suppliers. There is more to the world than a simple Yahoo search. People sell all sorts of things on Ebay and Froogle, and that includes replacement windows. Make sure you are looking at multiple suppliers to get the best deal that you possibly can. Once you have several suppliers that can possibly fill your order, pick the best deal available.

3) Learn about the different types of replacement windows. Just because you want to replace your home's windows, doesn't mean you are an expert. Do the research on buying replacement windows for your house. After you've done all the research that you've been looking for, you'll see that there is definitely a right way and a wrong way to go about doing a search for your new windows.



Window Replacement

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Solar energy comes from the sun. A biology class will tell you that in addition to affecting climate and weather, sunlight provides the energy that sustains most life on earth. It also can be harnessed to provide heating, lighting and electricity. Solar power has become a hot topic lately, but this technology is nothing new – Native Americans, people in China and even the early Greeks have historically turned their buildings to the sun for heat.

These early architects were using what is known as passive solar energy. This technique makes the best use of regular building materials to trap heat with no additional mechanical equipment used. Floors, windows and roofs play a role in attracting (or deflecting) the sun's rays.

There are a number of ways to take advantage of solar radiation, starting with the house's placement. Having the house face the equator (we'll assume we're in the Northern Hemisphere, thus the house should face south) means that it gets the day's sunlight. Window orientation is also important – for optimal efficiency, most windows should point within 30 degrees of due south. Maintaining a small percentage of north facing windows will ensure that your home is comfortable year round (and not cooking in the summer).

Rock or stone tile floors and brick walls will absorb the solar radiation and continue to give off heat after the sun is gone. While common windows allow heat to escape, special windows with low-e coating, multiple panes, inert gas fill, and/or insulated frames can reduce heat loss 50 to 75 per cent. By sealing your building envelope and insulating well, you will ensure that the heat stays in the house. It can then be distributed through the house using a regular ceiling fan.

Direct sunlight is not the only important light to think of when considering energy use. By using overall daylight to light a space you can cut down the need for electrical lighting and the heat that's created by it. Artificial lighting has only been the main source of illumination since the 20th century. And using natural light may have added benefits for your physical and mental health. In addition to windows, daylighting makes use of skylights, light pipes (also known as light tubes), atriums, and light shelves to illuminate the interior. This is best considered when building, but with a few small renos your house can be much brighter, naturally!

Passive cooling is another way to cut your bills and become more energy efficient. This is especially useful in warmer climates, where air conditioning can be a major power consumer. Passive cooling refers to using things for shading, to absorb the heat, and goes hand in hand with passive solar energy. It can be accomplished using exterior landscaping choices – trees and other vegetation – or interior/exterior building options, such as shades, blinds or special glazing on windows.

Whether you are building a new home, looking at doing some renovations or just want to cut your energy bill, passive solar energy and cooling techniques are an easy way to incorporated green ideas into your home. With the rising interest in environmental issues, they make an excellent selling feature and they'll save you money.



Window Replacement

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