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| Window (Photo credit: Rameshng) |
It can be challenging to meet all of the financial demands owning a home brings while you are still in the workplace and receiving steady income, but it is even more of a challenge when you are retired and living on a fixed income.
One way to hedge against ever increasing maintenance and utility costs in the future is to install protective tinted window film on your home’s windows.
Lower Utility Bills
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| English: Series of air conditioners at UNC-CH. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Implementing energy efficient devices will lower your utility costs now and later. One of the easier ways to cut energy costs is to install window tinting in your home. The biggest savings, of course, comes in the form of lowered air conditioning bills. Summer heat and sunshine pouring through your windows will take almost 50% of your utility bill to cool the house to a comfortable level.
Using window tinting will control the amount of solar gain that leaks into your home by as much as 80%. This in turn, reduces the load on your air conditioner, and your utility bill is greatly reduced. Additionally, there is a qualifying energy tax credit available until December 31, 2013, which could give you a direct tax reduction on next year’s taxes.
Greater Security
Window tinting provides more privacy, which increases your security at home, but the tinted window film also dissuades burglars in another way. The adhesive used to apply the film prevents windows from being smashed open: the glass actually remains intact even if it is shattered.
This is not only a great deterrent to forced home entry, it also means anyone inside the house is protected from flying glass—and that includes flying shards due to destructive weather from hurricanes and earthquakes, in addition to vandalism.
Hidden Benefits
A cheaper utility bill arriving every month for the rest of your life is certainly the greatest motivation for installing window tinting, but there are other ways you and your family benefit from installing window film.
The harmful UV rays are not stopped by ordinary glass (think sunglasses with UV protection vs. regular glasses). Window tinting will block the harmful UV rays and protect you and your family to overexposure.
The money you have invested in furniture will be protected because those same UV rays that damage the skin also cause fading and deterioration of upholstery and wood furniture. If you have ever seen a “weather-beaten” barn or house, you know what the sun can do over time; it has that same effect on your furnishings; it just takes a bit longer to cause severe sun damage on the inside of a house.
Your Home is Your Castle
Your home is your refuge, and it is meant to last a lifetime--and it can if it is well taken care of. Medieval castles still stand today because measures were taken to protect the castles at all costs. Taking pro-active measures, such as installing window tinting, before you retire will reduce your current energy costs as well as save you money in the future.
Most people have a fixed retirement income, or income that has the potential to fluctuate wildly due to the types of retirement investments one has undertaken. In any case, monthly retirement income is not likely to increase, so the more you can do to protect your biggest investment, your home, the better.
About the Author: Mark Manning is a freelance writer and home improvement buff - he loves taking care of the small projects around his home, but always calls in the professionals for the most important, bigger projects. He suggests checking out this window tinting in Houston resource for more information.
