Is anyone familiar with the Fibertec 400 Double-Hung Tilt Windows: Standard Series windows? Are they good? I could not find their technical specs. The salesman told me: u-factor is 0.29, shgc 0.27 and vt 0.50 which should more or less work for me because I'm in the North Central climate zone. Is Fibertec a good company? Are these particular windows good?

pq-

If you are in the North Central climate zone, I assume that you are in a predominately heating environment. If that is the case, then I would suggest that you use higher solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) than 0.27, especially for south facing windows and maybe also for west and east windows, unless you are in a forest and don't have direct solar radiation to work with. A target SHGC would be about 0.50. Typically the u-factor might increase to 0.31 for the same type windows with high SHGC, but calculations with Dept. of Energy's RESFEN computer model (available for free download) will show the significant advantage for the high SHGC windows even with higher U-factor in reducing heating costs.

I have no information of Fibertec windows, but suggest you start out working with the technical specs for the windows and determine what would reduce your energy costs first.

Lee Dodge

I have Fibertec windows throughout my house. They are all triple pane fiberglass (of course). I dealt with Steve if I recall his name correctly and overall the process was smooth and went very well. I am very pleased with the windows and doors.

I agree with Lee - solar gain can be the most important number to look at, more so than u-value (depending on the orientation). The other thing to look at is air infiltration numbers. Double-hungs are going to be one of the worst, to be honest. We had a lot of double hungs slated for our house & ended up going with casements. It was an upcharge, but I'm SOOOOOOO happy we did it. I really like the casements, AND they're going to be more efficient.

Talk to a few people who have dealt with the company. I have purchased two full size samples and will not deal with them ever again.

Others may have more constructive experiences.