Blog

The Holidays are right around the corner... Christmas lights are going up, those pesky in-laws are coming to town and I've already packed on five pounds from the cookies being left in the Window Factory coffee room.

To get in the spirit of the season, the Window Factory is making a special holiday offer to all of our customers with a free upgrade to Low-e3 glass when purchasing new replacement vinyl windows or doors before December 30^th.

Energy-efficient Low-e3 glass provides three layers of year-round thermal protection, a clear coating that blocks solar gain and reflects heat while letting the light stream in.

The full-year benefits of LoĒ³-366 can be clearly seen. When the temperature soars in the summer, ordinary window glass just can't beat the heat. And tinted glass spoils the view. LoĒ³-366 is formulated to reject solar heat while maintaining attractive visibility. So it keeps the heat out while letting light in. As a matter of fact, LoĒ³-366 glass is our ultimate in performance and clarity among all of Cardinal's clear coated products.

What is more, LoĒ³-366 provides the ultimate in fading protection. It blocks 95% of the sun's damaging ultraviolet rays - a leading cause of fading (visible light also contributes to fading) - so your furniture, carpets, curtains and wall coverings stay beautiful for years.

We're kicking off a new feature on The Window Factory blog called "From the Field" where we'll highlight some of the custom window and door installations we're doing around the county.

This week, we've got some pictures to share from a newly improved home in Oceanside. The owner of this home was tired of his old single-pane aluminum windows which were prone to cracking and would rattle when heavy vehicles passed by or planes flew overhead.

The homeowner wanted new, custom vinyl windows that would add curb appeal to his property, provide added safety for his family, reduce the ambient noise, and improve his home's energy efficiency.

Our master installers Sid and Francisco snapped these shots of the new, double-pane Solana Windows manufactured in our San Diego factory using special low-e (low-emission) glass.

Not only do these new windows look great and instantly add value to the home, but we expect this customer will see a nice drop in their monthly heating and A/C bills as a result of going with the highly energy efficient low-e glass.

There's nothing easy about running a business in today's economy.  Organizations in every sector are being forced to take a hard look in the mirror and make very difficult decisions in terms of where to focus their energy and where to make reductions.

It's no secret that the home remodeling and construction space has certainly taken a hit over the past two years.  At the Window Factory, we've had to carefully examine and rethink every aspect of our business to maximize productivity and find a balance between our incoming business and our operational overhead.

Throughout this process, a few key themes have emerged that I think any business owner or entrepreneur can benefit from while trying to weather this economic storm:

• Never lose track of where you are financially. Track it day by day if you have to.

• Don't be afraid to re-evaluate every aspect of the business.

• Recognize that those employees who have been a staple of the company for years may not be a good fit now.

• Focus on the customer and his/her needs.

• Remember that your vendors can be your best allies.

It's definitely a challenging time to keep any business afloat, but with great challenges come great opportunities.  Here at the Window Factory we've taken advantage of this chapter of our company history to get innovative in how we manage our operations, how we communicate with customers and how we work with our vendor partners.

By keeping these tips in mind on a daily basis, we're confident that we'll emerge a stronger company once the economy does turn around.

-JJ

As you know from some of my past posts here on the blog, we make great efforts at the Window Factory to keep our business green and promote environmental stewardship whenever possible.

There is no shortage of information available on the web highlighting the benefits of low-emission glass in terms of improving the energy efficiency in the home, which can lower home heating and cooling bills by up to 1/3.

In many cases, the windows will pay for themselves several times over, not to mention adding resale value to the home in terms of overall aesthetics and curb appeal.

When evaluating the cost of installing replacement windows from the Window Factory, it's imperative to consider the energy savings that can be expected over the life of the window.

To make this process easier, we've added a new energy calculator to the Window Factory site where you can enter some basic information about your home in order to calculate your annual heating and cooling costs. The calculator then helps to identify the potential cost savings that could be expected annually.

Click here to give it a shot.

-JJ

The folks over at San Diego Gas & Electric are getting serious about energy efficiency these days. They've just launched a new web campaign called Go Green Save Green, designed to help the San Diego community find the best deals on green appliances and home improvements, do an energy analysis on their homes or learn techniques for improving the energy efficiency.

There is also a handy tool to sign up for paperless billing in order to reduce paper waste and the energy required to transport the mail.  Talk about saving green...have you seen the price of stamps these days?!

While you're on their site, check out the Complimentary Home Energy & Water Savings Kit, a free kit that includes three faucet aerators and a low-flow showerhead to maintain a high-pressure flow while reducing water usage up to 11%.

They also provide a great overview of alternative energy sources that are already being used to meet the energy needs of San Diego County. Check out the full details after the jump.

-JJ