1. Not my favorite

2. Good window if you are looking at the Restorations and upper end lines

3. Good window as well but stick to the upper series (800 is their best) as well

4. Nice window but quite a bit different than the others on that list. Are you a wood consumer?

Thanks. No, we are not looking for specifically wood windows but definitely don't want to lose 25% of light due to the vinyl replacement windows being smaller.

In my opinion as well as others, MI ( metal industries) are garbage, very flimsy with a very high air leakage rate. Its basically a contractor grade window. MI windows are for customers who only care about cost and NOT quality.

Both the Sunrise “ restorations” and sunrise “ vanguard” are very good windows.

the Okna 600 “ eco pro” is a great window as is the 800.

the andersen 400 will require maintenance and it does not have very good performance numbers compared to okna or sunrise. The andersen is also a pain in the neck to tilt in to clean.

you will NOT lose more light with a vinyl opposed to a wood window. Who ever told you that ?

That stuff about light loss is drastically overstated and a load of you know what. If you contrast a Sunrise Restoration, done as an insert, vs. an Andersen 400 as a full tear out, the differences in total lumens would probably be imperceptible.

Agreed with those saying vinyl might be the best way to go -- you really won't notice light 'lost' at all

Addressing the Sunrise Window Product, which model best compares to the Okna 600 or Soft-lite LS? I thought I had my list down to 3 but then this company came into the mix. Had considered the Polaris TW Plus but dealer wanted $150 more per unit then what Okna dealer quoted on 600 - only benefit of Polaris was the 20 yr warranty on exterior color as far as I saw. Waiting on Soft-lite price. BTW - you guys are a great source, appreciate it!

The sunrise vanguard or sunrise restorations would be comparable to the okna 600 series or the soft lite Ls.

+1. You will need to go up to the Restorations series in the Sunrise to get the reinforcement if memory serves me and the Okna will still have the better air infiltration numbers in that comparison as well.

The Vanguard will have the fiberglass reinforcement in the horizontal meeting rail which is typical of quality products. The restorations also has the fiberglass reinforcement in the "vertical" sides of the sashes. Best way to describe it is in an "H" pattern. The light loss isn't an issue and whoever said that is a little confused. If all the windows were installed using the same method the differences will all be negligible for the models your looking at. I concur that the MI is kind of an oddball in the group. Probably one of the lowest end and least expensive windows vs 3 other that are regarded as quality. ... Ill add that the back of my house a beautiful addition with all Anderson 400 windows. (was here when I bought it). They are drafty and very difficult to tilt in to clean. I can do it because I'm a window person but most homeowners it would be a two man job to safely do with tearing anything up

two oddballs: a low end economy window in the MI, and a wood window in the 400. If a good vinyl window is your goal, the Sunrise and Okans are good. The light thing is an install issue more than a product issue. Full frame versus replacmenet.

You could always do a full frame installation with the vinyl windows without losing any glass area. 100% any insert/pocket window install will cost you some glass area. A full frame install will cost more than a pocket install. Be prepared for interior/exterior trim work.

Huh?

What?

It's spam, just flag it.

If you want too look for something specific I suggest Dako.

You're back. How nice...

I think Dako sounds like a low end window. I may consider using Dako in a public restroom but thats about it. Dont they refer to Dako as ” the ghetto window” ?

What?

Lol, nice spam Alpen. Its true though, there aren't too many window lines that have been bought and sold, went under, failed even after Obama pumped them with funding, etc. Are you still using that snake oil heat mirror film that nobody else uses because of its failure rate?

Suspended Films are actually remarkable. And Alpen is a PRO, which supports Houzz here. Perhaps you haven'nt found a company like Alpen, who has spent a lot of time perfecting this technology. Not all suspended films (what you call HeatMirror) are even installed in the same manner. Alpen takes a totally different approach. Alpen has thousands of happy customers, but here's some real facts: It's been proven by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

You'll find Alpen's suspended film at the Princess Elizabeth Station in Antartica + The Museum of Flight + The Packard Foundation Headquarters... And how's this for not-being snake oil... The Empire State Building. 6,514 windows were replaced! The whole building energy upgrade project equaled a $4.4 million energy savings (30% lower energy consumption)

If you still aren't convinced, and have done your homework, consider the fact that Alpen gives you options.. Alpen was also the FIRST to introduce thin glass triples and quads to the world. The Department of Energy has tested it to failure at 240mph, 1/8" glass panes failed first, NOT the ThinGlass. Amazing! But that's just the start..

There's a lot of window companies that have been bought and sold, yes, but not Alpen. Alpen has been around since the 1980s, driving innovation. The big names won't do it, but Alpen has and will.

Thanks for the comments Fridge. We can't speak for other heat mirror companies, but we do not share the failure rates you speak of, and are neck and neck with traditional IG manufacturers in terms of failure percentage in the field. That said, we have seen tremendous growth in market use of thin triples and thin quads using 1mm glass in lieu of film (over a million square feet shipped to date), a technology we helped develop in collaboration with the Department of Energy. We're doing our part to transform the industry to a higher performance standard, and we plan to keep doing so. They'll always be naysayers and people that want to knock you down, we get it, but we just keep on keepin' on as they say. You have a wonderful day and best of luck to you.

• here's some real facts: It's been proven by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Do you have references to this claim?

You bet Dennis, here is a link to a page on the Eastman Chemical website concerning heat mirror technology being invented at M.I.T.: https://www.eastman.com/Brands/HeatMirror/Residential/Pages/How_It_Works.aspx

Bit of trivia, Cardinal held the original patents for suspended film technology, but decided not to pursue it.

Seems to have worked out well for Cardinal then.

I suspect that they don't have any regrets

I lived thru the Heat Mirror debacle with Hurd, it was a real crap show.

Excellent dialogue...oberon476 mostly correct on Cardinal, they were the first official fabricator of heat mirror after it's invention at MIT, and they did patent the heat shrink portion of the technology.

and also the concept of applying LowE coatings to the film.

Still waiting for an answer on the ""There's a lot of window companies that have been bought and sold, yes, but not Alpen." statement.

I won't hold my breath.

I do see that you liked your own post though (the only one like). That's pretty cool.

You've got the timeline correct Mr. Fridge, the company was owned by Serious Materials for a short time before Mr. Begin purchased the assets when Serious was going out of business, and then restored the company name back to it's longstanding name. The Alpen name was founded in 1981 by Robert Clarke, who helped pioneer the use suspended film in commercial window and glass applications, and still consults with Alpen to this day at 80 years young! As the oldest longest standing fabricator of suspended film technology, we are proud of our heritage but have also continued to innovate as evidenced by our commercial growth in ThinTriple and ThinQuad glass manufacturing, which has gained a huge share of our production.

Sorry about the "like" on our own post, clearly a mistake. You have an awesome day, hopefully you get some good cheerful sunshine over the weekend! Happy to speak further offline, just email info@thinkalpen.com, many thanks.