What Do Consumers Look for When They Window Shop? Energy Performance and Durability, a New Survey Says

Survey also finds that consumers buy new windows mostly to improve the energy efficiency of their homes

Silver Spring , Md. , December 2, 2004 – Consumers in the market for new windows care most about how much competing products will reduce their energy bills and about how long the products will last, according to a new nationwide survey sponsored by the non-profit National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC). The same is true for consumers in the market for new skylights and doors.

Of those surveyed, 97 percent said that energy performance would be an “important” or “very important” factor in their decision. Homeowners ranked durability as the second most important factor (92 percent), followed by price (88 percent), appearance (87 percent), and warranty (87 percent).

“Energy performance is clearly important to homeowners who are thinking about buying new windows, and NFRC is pleased to be able to provide them with the independent ratings they need to make an informed decision,” said Jim Benney, NFRC's Executive Director.

NFRC is an independent, public interest organization that administers a uniform system for rating and labeling the energy performance of windows, doors, and skylights. NFRC-certified products carry a label that consumers can use to compare the energy performance of different products on an apples-to-apples basis, just as car buyers use miles-per-gallon stickers to compare the mileage performance of new cars.

Energy performance is also the primary force that drives consumers into the market in the first place, according to the NFRC survey. When asked why they might decide to buy new windows, doors, or skylights, 54 percent of respondents said “to increase the energy efficiency of their homes.” Thirty percent said they would buy new fenestration products to replace old ones due to “normal wear and tear,” and 28 percent said they would buy them because they were remodeling their homes.

The survey also found that:

•  15 percent of respondents who purchased four or more products during the previous three years had heard of NFRC. That's up from just five percent in the 1998 survey.

•  75 percent of the respondents said that they think utilities are an important information source. Contractors came next (57 percent), followed by manufacturer literature (61 percent) and friends (58 percent).

•  When homeowners think of energy efficient windows, the benefits that are most important to them include reduced energy costs and energy use, keeping the cold out or the heat in, and letting in lots of light. Further down the list are reduced condensation, less fading, and less glare.

•  With all other factors being equal (price, quality, etc.), nearly 90 percent of homeowners said that they would purchase a window that is certified by an independent energy performance rating agency over a window that is not certified.

The survey results are based on 593 responses from a mailing to 4,200 homeowners nationwide.

NFRC's members include manufacturers, suppliers, utilities, consumer groups, representatives from the building and code industries, and government agencies. For more information about the organization, please visit www.nfrc.org.

-- ### --