The windows in your home affect the amount of light and noise that reaches you, as well as air quality and climate control – all of which cumulatively shape your quality of life. That has a significant impact on your physical and mental health, sometimes in unexpected ways.
Improving your windows’ quality can make an immediate and noticeable difference. Windows with multiple panes, reflective coatings, improved frame technology, and better air sealing can give you more control over the environment inside your home.
Here’s a breakdown of how windows impact your health, and which types of window upgrades may be best to solve specific problems.
Light
Access to natural light has been found to improve health in countless studies: Better sleep, higher energy, improved mental health – daylight supports all of it. As one study put it, light is “the primary environmental cue for the body’s master biological clock.” Synchronizing your internal clock with natural light-dark cycles (known as “circadian alignment”) is foundational to a variety of other benefits.
But it’s not just circadian alignment. Rooms exposed to daylight have fewer germs, meaning your home environment is less likely to make you sick. UV light is a known disinfectant, and research about natural daylight shows a similar effect. In a 2018 study, University of Oregon researchers found that sunlit rooms have about half the amount of viable bacteria as dark rooms.
Noise
Outside noise intrudes into almost everyone’s home at least some of the time, whether you live in a dense city or not. After all, even spacious suburbs have leaf blowers and garbage trucks.
And noise pollution is no joke. Loud disruptions are the most noticeable, but even continuous low-level noise can have health impacts like sleep disruptions, short-term cognitive impairments, and higher stress levels that harm wellbeing. That doesn’t even get into hearing loss, which can be a problem in particularly loud environments such as aircraft pathways.
“Noise pollution interferes with speech and language development, decreases concentration, impairs memory retention, and increases blood pressure,” according to the Environmental Health Sciences Center at UC Davis. Systemic causes for noise pollution are largely out of your control, but you can try to make your home as quiet as possible.
Air Quality
While noise is the second-largest cause of environmental health problems, air pollution is the first. Nearly half of all Americans live with unhealthy levels of air pollution. This can lead to higher levels of asthma, lung cancer, respiratory infections, heart disease, stroke, and other issues. Some studies estimate air pollution shaves nearly two years off the average lifespan globally.
Air pollution can originate from either outside (as in car exhaust or wildfire smoke), or inside, as with gas stoves, paint fumes, or off-gassing chemicals from new products in the home. Windows matter for both types of pollution. Newer windows can provide a stronger seal against outdoor pollutants, and new windows are typically easier to open for better ventilation.
Meanwhile, energy-efficiency steps that make your home more comfortable also have a profound (if less direct) impact on air quality:
- The less you have to crank your HVAC, the less you’ll circulate dust and indoor particulates inside (and if you heat your home with fossil fuels, the less harmful gas you’ll contribute to the broader environment).
- Moisture buildup from inefficient windows – which shows in the form of condensation on the panes – can lead to mold growth and a damp atmosphere in the house.
Windows That Make Your Home Healthier
Making your windows more energy efficient can help address a number of the above issues. For example, getting more daylight is easy – just open the blinds or drapes! – but efficient windows can make sure you’re maximizing light without needing to turn up the HVAC due to excessive heat transfer between indoors and outside.
Here’s a breakdown of the details:
- Double- and triple-paned windows: These windows have layers of inert gases, such as argon, between the panes. That adds insulation and blocks noise better than air. The triple-pane window is the gold standard for noise mitigation, but even a double-pane makes a noticeable difference.
- Varying glass thickness: Within multi-paned glass windows, having panes of various sizes helps dampen various types of sound frequencies that enter the home
- Reflective coatings: Low-emissivity films that are either applied on the glass or integrated into the glass itself can reflect heat while allowing light in.
- Insulating frames: New frames like wood, fiberglass, or vinyl with foam insulation can create an airtight seal for help with air quality, noise, and comfort.
- Easily operable windows: Newer windows are easier to open, allowing for better ventilation from indoor pollutants like gas from the stove.
Windows are a big investment, but they can make big differences for your energy costs, your quality of life, and your health.
Available Discounts and Financing
As you decide which window upgrades to pursue, keep in mind that discounts and incentives for energy-efficient options are available.
Neeeco is offering 50 percent off installation until the end of October 2025, and you can also finance installation with $0 down and no interest or payments for 12 months.
Also available: a $75 Mass Save rebate for every single-pane window you replace with ENERGY STAR Most Efficient certified models*, along with a federal tax credit of $600 for ENERGY STAR windows. For other financing options, HEAT loans of up to $25,000 are available for qualifying efficiency projects in your house.
*Some restrictions apply and offers are subject to change or cancellation. Visit MassSave.com/HEA for full details.
Call (781) 776-5711 or contact our team to schedule your free windows consultation today!