There are many different types of windows with many different appearances that appeal to a wide range of housing styles and personal tastes. Before choosing doors or windows based solely on style, consumers are wise to make sure the products they select are energy efficient and easy to maintain. They should be carefully sized and installed well to prevent energy and moisture leaks.

PATH Tools

Energy Efficient Rehab Advisor
This easy-to-use Web-based tool will help you integrate energy efficiency into your remodeling or rehab project. It provides recommended energy efficiency measures for most types of rehab projects, as well as the associated costs, energy savings and additional benefits of incorporating the measures.

NEST: National Economic Service-life Tools

Tools for Durable Homes

Durability is an important factor to consider when making decisions about your house. By choosing building materials with the most cost-effective level of durability, you can save in maintenance and replacement costs over the life of your home.

NEST is a set of tools and resources designed to help homeowners choose the right amount of durability for their homes. By examining factors such as the structure, location, materials, and age of a house, NEST can find the durable materials that will help you maintain your home at the lowest cost.

The NEST Builder is the first step in evaluating your housing material options. Then, continue to the Durability Doctor. Click on the icon below to begin.

If you experience any difficulty with the operation of the NEST tools, please email nest@nist.gov.

The Rehab Guide Volume 4: Windows and Doors May 1999
The Rehab Guides are a series of nine guidebooks to inform the design and construction industry about state-of-the-art materials and innovative practices in housing rehabilitation. Volume 4 covers repair and rehabilitation of existing windows and doors, as well as new technologies that increase energy savings and decrease maintenance costs.

The Rehab Guide Volume 5: Partitions, Ceilings, Floors, and Stairs November 1999
The Rehab Guides are a series of nine guidebooks to inform the design and construction industry about state-of-the-art materials and innovative practices in housing rehabilitation. Volume 5 covers floor/ceiling structural assemblies, sheathing/subflooring and underlayments, finished floors, and finish materials for walls and ceilings.

Wind-Borne Debris: Impact Resistance of Residential Glazing January 2002
The objective of this research was to provide needed data on the fragility (i.e., impact magnitude vs. glass breakage probability) of typical residential glass using field-observed and standardized missile types representing wind-borne debris.

Technology Inventory Spotlight

Energy-Efficient Interior Storm Windows
Increase the energy performance of a home by updating single-pane windows at significant cost savings over window replacement.

High Performance Glazing
Comfort and safety features mark today's residential windows

Window Film
Improves energy efficiency, controls solar gain, and blocks ultraviolet radiation.

Composite Window Frames
Windows with dimensional stability, thermal performance, and decay resistance at a cost similar to traditional wood or vinyl windows.

Content updated on 7/11/2006