11 Simple Ways to Save Money when Buying Windows

Many window companies offer massive discounts: helping you to save money when buying windows by sharing their brand name on social media, posting a good review or for letting them display a promotional sign outside your house. Ideas, such as these, slowly lower your cost price to an amount significantly lower than first quoted.

This creates the question: if they can offer that price, then why didn’t they just give that to you in the first place?

Enlightened Windows do not work like that. We offer our best possible supply price up-front, and any factory discounts that could be applied are given to you directly. The way that we like to help you save money on your windows is to be as transparent as possible when it comes to the infinitely long options list.

There are almost always ways to reduce your price with us. We can do this because we’re not tied to a single manufacturer and can offer many different window options. Our estimators have a wealth of experience with quoting different types of windows, and will be happy help you reduce the cost of your units using the methods outlined below.

1. Do you need every part of every window to be openable?

A very common request for us is a side opening casements with two sections, both of which can be opened. But is this really necessary?

For bedrooms, probably yes (to achieve a wide fire escape route). But most other rooms will never need more than one half opening at a time. Fixed windows are cheaper to manufacture than opening casements.

Similarly, our sliding sash windows can be slid open from both top and bottom by default. However, most people will only choose one or the other in every-day use. Let us know if you can’t foresee needing to open half of the window.

2. Is a fixed sash essential, or would a fixed frame be sufficient?

In the world of windows, a sash is the part of the window that opens, and the frame is the part that stays in place. Often, for symmetry or to help line-through with other windows, fixed windows are made to look like they can open. Very useful, but also slightly more expensive to manufacturer.

We go into lots of detail in our fixed lights vs dummy sashes explanation here, as this is an important decision style-wise. If you don’t mind the “step” between opener and fixed section, feel free to let us know.

3. Could you switch to a standard colour?

Every factory has their own set of standard colours, almost always from the “RAL” range. Perhaps you or your architect has chosen a specific RAL colour but, if it is non-standard, you will see a surcharge on your quote.

Always ask if we can provide a similar colour, without having that additional cost.

4. Would your house really benefit from triple glazing?

Is triple glazing better? Better insulation and better airtightness? Well, it actually depends.

Depending on the age of your home, and how well the whole building is insulated, you may decide that triple glazing is not worth the price upgrade. For the vast majority of renovations, we find that the current standard of double glazing is more than sufficient – as the efficiency is significantly improved compared to double glazing of a few years ago.

Critically, the main consideration is whether triple glazing will be excessive and in-excess of the insulation provided by the rest of the house. This is a great way to save money when buying windows to potentially spend elsewhere on a renovation.

5. Are decorative glazing bars essential?

Glazing bars can look attractive, and can make a very modern window appear more traditional.

However, as well as reducing the amount of light coming into your home, they add a surprising amount of cost for such small items.

Traditionally, glazing bars separated independent panes of glass. However, nowadays, the whole window is one glass section, and decorative spacers are placed within the glass to provide much better airtightness than would have previously been achieved.

If you don’t need to want these bars, feel free to ask us to remove them.

We priced up some example units to see how different bar combinations affected the price. The results are below.

6. Do you need so many sections in one opening?

At Enlightened Windows, we combine the ideas about whether you need a lot of opening windows and many decorative bars: could the overall number of sections in one window be reduced?

For example:

Below is a window sized at 1m x 1m. It can be configured in an infinite amount of ways, but we’ve shown just three examples below.

Every choice has an almost identical opening area, but more sections almost always means more cost. Could you reduce the number of sections and still have all the functionality that you need?

7. Have you requested an expensive mechanism?

Not all ways of opening a window are equal. As a rough guide: tilt and turn is normally the most expensive, followed by guided systems (easy-clean) and visibly hinged casements are the most cost-effective. This is why we always explain the cost-implications of different mechanism choices.

All have their benefits and drawbacks, and not all are suitable for every size of opening. If you’re looking to save money when buying windows for your home, it may be worth “downgrading” to a type of opener that does 99% of what you would ideally have.

A good example is our popular tilt and turn options, as in the image below. To have the same-size opener in the same material, but with a standard hinge, will almost always be cheaper.

8. Have you asked for one of our higher-end products?

Our product range is very large, and not everything is displayed on our website. Hence why we always like to have a chat with every customer to make sure that we’re providing the best option.

We let customers know when they have chosen one of our top-end systems before they receive the price. We can then discuss other options if required.

9. Is 100% Maintenance-Free a Must-Have?

Our most popular windows are made from aluminium-clad timber. They offer the best of both worlds, and it’s very easy to see why they are fantastic for many projects. We’ve written about their exceptional qualities in many articles. Here’s an example of why we think composite windows are fantastic. However, they are not perfect for everyone. If the idea of taking care of a timber window doesn’t concern you (some of our customers even look forward to it), or perhaps you would like a more traditional appearance, then a timber-only window is a very viable, sustainable and cost-effective choice.

10. Do you have any other windows that you would like to order at the same time?

As with other industries, order quantity does matter. If you ask for twenty windows, then you will likely receive a better price than if you asked for two.

Not only that, but for extra orders, at a later date, an additional delivery cost will be needed. In most cases, asking for one window from a factory in Europe will incur the same transport cost as asking for a pallet full – as they take up the same amount of space in the delivery vehicle.

A common choice is whether to renovate one floor at a time, or do the whole house at once. If you wish to save money in the long-run, less orders means less delivery charges.

11. Are you exploring all the options?

Ultimately, we are here to provide you with the best possible solution according to your needs. Combining all of the ideas outlined above, you can be sure to save money when buying your windows. Every order that we place will have gone through many iterations to find the perfect solution in terms of quality, functionality and price.