Around 10 billion donuts are sold each year in the United States. Around 65 million windows and entry doors are sold each year in the United States. You can see through the middle of both, and that’s about the extent of the similarities.

Why bring up donuts? Stay with me a minute. Buying windows today is not unlike shopping for a luxury car. After figuring out what size, type, and brand of windows and doors you prefer, then you have options in color and materials for both the interior and exterior; grilles or no grilles, or grilles in a huge variety of geometry; hardware in various colors and finishes; number of panes of glass and the coating on that glass; even the simple bug screen now has options in color and material. The nuance in options is as vast as the variety at your local (and here we are) donut shop.

Now imagine selecting your donut of choice: “I’ll have the one with chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles.” And your donut purveyor says, “Perfect choice, but before you can have it, I need to tell you all the details about where we sourced the flour and frosting.” The face you would invariably make is not unlike one I have seen on my clients when I’m explaining the need for high-performance windows.

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