Do Low-E Windows Look Tinted?

Function

• A low-E coating is a thin metallic layer on a windowpane that controls the flow of heat flow generated by the sun through the pane. The coating draws the sun's warmth into a home in winter, and it blocks the transfer of heat into a home in summer. As a result, windows with low-E coatings could cut your heating and cooling costs.

Solar Heat Gain

• The metallic layers that make up low-E coatings are nearly invisible, according to the Efficient Windows Collaborative. Low-E coatings allow more light into a home than other forms of tinted and reflective window coatings designed to increase energy efficiency. However, the EWC indicates that some varieties of low-E coatings designed to cut solar heat gain in hot climates look slightly tinted. The solar heat gain coefficient measures the amount of direct sunlight that comes through a window. Windows with a lower SHGC allow in less solar heat.

Costs

• Be prepared to pay more for windows if you opt for panes with low-E coatings. Windows with coated panes cost about 10 to 15 percent more than windows with regular panes, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Nonetheless, low-E coatings could save you a significant amount of money on utility bills, because the DOE also reports that the coatings cut a home's energy losses by 30 to 50 percent.

Other Options

• Consider putting deciduous trees in place to avoid installing low-E windows if you don't like the tinted appearance of panes that help lower the SHGC. South-facing windows allow beneficial solar heat into your home in winter, according to the California Energy Commission. Deciduous trees near south-facing windows would drop their leaves in fall to allow that heat into your home, and the regrowth of their foliage in spring would shade the windows to block that heat in summer. Installing retractable awnings on your home would provide a similar effect. You could retract the awnings in fall and winter to let in solar heat and extend them in summer to block the heat.