Amy Hoak's Home Economics: A not-so-sexy home improvement project with real benefits

Replacing windows with more efficient ones doesnt have an immediate payoff for homeowners, from an energy-cost savings standpoint. Yet, come resale time, updated windows can be a plus.

Thats why one reader recently sent an email, explaining his dilemma:

New windows would make no sense from an energy-saving payback, (30-year payback at best) but I am starting to come around to the view that there are fewer and fewer DIY types in the market and that green is an increasingly pertinent selling catch phrase, regardless of costs. But, then, if I do take the plunge is it stupid to install the new windows 10 years before I move? he wrote.

The short answer: Its not a stupid idea, according to the contractors, real-estate agents and energy-efficiency experts to whom I posed this question. Still, pays to pinpoint why youre doing it.

Most people buy windows because their old ones are shot and drafty, and they know theyre losing energy, said Paul Vosen, president of Degenhardt Home Improvement, in Madison, Wis.

Some also swap windows for those that are easier to maintain or clean. Vinyl windows, for example, need less maintenance, and some windows can be cleaned from inside the house, Vosen said. New windows can reduce the amount of noise that can enter the home, as well as lessen the amount of ultraviolet light that comes in which will reduce fading on flooring and furnishings, said Kathy Ziprik, spokeswoman for Simonton Windows, a manufacturer of windows and doors.

Its not out the question for windows to last 30 years, if theyre taken care of, Vosen said. Buy them about a decade before you move (as the reader contemplated doing), and youll both enjoy them while you live in the home and still have windows new enough to appeal to an eventual buyer.

On a national average, you can recover 78.7% of the price of a mid-cost vinyl window replacement and 76.6% of an upscale vinyl window replacement at resale, according to Remodeling magazines 2014 Cost vs. Value Report. Meanwhile, you can recover 79.3% of the cost of a mid-cost wood window replacement and 74% of an upscale wood window replacement at resale.

That potential return on investment is one reason why John C. Kmiecik, a Chicago-area real-estate agent, recently spent $18,000 on new windows for his 3,000-square-foot suburban Chicago home.

We are probably going to stay in the house about five to seven years, and when we do sell, will be able to market that property with newer windows, he said.

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Amy Hoak's Home Economics: A not-so-sexy home improvement project with real benefits