Where is the home? The reality is that the reduction in UV transmission will not dramatically impact plant growth.

We are in Ontario, Canada

In Ontario, I wouldn't be ordering anything that is a 3 coat for UV or solar heat control. You need all the passive solar you can get.

Not super familiar with the Andersen coatings.

Oberon...?

The windows will already have heat lock built in so I think it should be sufficient for winter months here. However, we are a corner unit south facing so its sunny a lot of the time (we have 21 windows). We ended up putting the smart sun on the kids windows cause when the sun sets, it’s so hot you can’t breathe in the summer. Thanks for your input!

Lily,

Have you already ordered the windows or are you still in decision stage?

Per plant growth with LowE coatings, look at page 29 of the Cardinal glass guide for more information.

https://www.cardinalcorp.com/source/pdf/TGG_V3.0_Final_11-20-2020.pdf

For reference, the SmartSun option that you are considering is Cardinal's LoE³-366, a triple-silver layer coating. Sun coating is LoE²-272, a dual-silver layer which is also listed on the chart. Adding Heatlock will lower visible light transmittance by a percent or two compared on what's on the chart.

Even in a heating dominated climate like Ontario blocking solar heat from west-facing windows is generally good advice; what you might lose in winter is more than offset by what you don't gain the rest of the year, so using SmartSun on west facing windows is not a bad idea. However, like WoW said, I would be more inclined to use LoE coatings that allow more solar heat gain in your other windows if for no other reason that it feels good on cold winter days but also because it can be a nice supplement to the heat provided by your furnace.

Heat-lock is a surface 4 (inside glass surface that you can touch) coating that improves the U-factor value of your windows by reflecting interior heat back into the room; heat that would have escaped to the outdoors otherwise.

The upside of the surface 4 coating, besides the improvement in U-factor, is that because it reflects the heat back into the room, it can feel noticeably warmer when sitting in front of the window on a cold day. The downside is that because it reflects heat before the glass can absorb it, the glass is colder making it more prone to winter condensation if the outside it cold and the inside has a high enough level of moisture in the air.

This doesn't mean that condensation is inevitable, the glass is still warmer than a dual pane without a LowE coating for example, but it does mean that you will have to pay more attention to managing your indoor humidity levels when it's really cold.

Thanks for your input oberon476!

We are still finalizing everything at the moment. Owner is currently away on vacation but we have agreed to the quote.

It sounds like what we are going with is what you’re also recommending - smartsun on the west facing windows and lowE and heat lock on all windows. So that’s reassuring!

I think my next issue is the fact that their windows are a different shade of white than my walls. So it’s driving me nuts on figuring out what I should do with the trim!

I am not sure if Oberon is merely stating the properties of the glass vs making a reccomendation. The Heat lock often gets dismissed in Northern climates due to its lower rating on condensation resistance. ( O.59 on smartsun vs 0.47 on Heatlock.)

Even though it gets dismissed often there is little real world experieces posted. If one is embracing or going with the Heat Lock on the standard Low-E why not get it on the SmartSun as well, besides cost of course. I wish I could experiment with HeatLock since I find it very interesting. unfortunately it is not available on what I typically sell and I dont want to experiment with it when i get into much more expensive wood windows that I infrequently sell as condensation is a killer on them.

Sorry if I caused any confusion, as Todd commented I was attempting to discuss the properties of the windows and coatings, as well as application, rather than recommending or endorsing.

The 100 series is Andersen's entry-level product and as entry-level products go, it's a pretty good one, but it has limitations consistent with it's place within the window performance pecking order.

Is there a specific reason for wanting the 100 series??

If I was to recommend a window for Ontario, unless you are in the southern most part of the Province, my first suggestion would be to look at triple-pane options.