Window-Related Energy Consumption in the US Residential and Commercial Building Stock

We present a simple spreadsheet-based tool for estimating window-related energy consumption in the United States. Using available data on the properties of the installed US window stock, we estimate that windows are responsible for 2.15 quadrillion Btu (Quads) of heating energy consumption and 1.48 Quads of cooling energy consumption annually. We develop estimates of average U-factor and SHGC for current window sales. We estimate that a complete replacement of the installed window stock with these products would result in energy savings of approximately 1.2 quads. We demonstrate that future window technologies offer energy savings potentials of up to 3.9 Quads.