Free in-home measure and quote - PGT, CGI and CWS impact lines compared on your actual openings, style by style
Sliding glass doors
Impact garage doorsPGTCGI
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Energy-Efficient Windows Across San Antonio
Energy-efficient window replacement in San Antonio typically costs $550 to $1,450 per window installed, with most full-home projects in the 78201 and 78204 corridors landing between $9,000 and $22,000. TruePane’s Energy-Efficient Windows team quotes the manufacturer lines side by side on paper so you see exactly what you’re paying for before we order a single unit. If you’re weighing this decision, call us at (888) 635-0804. A live person picks up. We’ll tell you what we’d do on your house, not what a brochure says.
Why TruePane Windows & Doors Is San Antonio’s Preferred Energy-Efficient Windows Company
We’ve worked inside more of this city’s old houses than we can count. The houses in San Antonio don’t sit still. The black-gumbo clay under the Balcones Fault Zone moves with every wet spring and dry August, and that movement works its way up through the framing and into every window opening. Most national installers don’t know what that means for a double-hung sash in a 1920s Craftsman bungalow. We do, because we’ve been called back to fix their work.
Dale Kessler founded TruePane in 2008 on a rule he still keeps on the whiteboard: if the pane is not true, the job is not done. That governs every measurement we take in San Antonio, from Monte Vista to Government Hill. We’re not the cheapest bid you’ll get. But our Done Right Promise means if something isn’t right, we come back and make it right, no paperwork fight and no arguing. The Keystone Standard puts both warranty layers in writing, with durations stated, before our truck leaves your driveway.
Whether you live in San Antonio proper or just outside it, you’ll get background-checked, uniformed technicians who measure every opening twice and register both manufacturer warranty layers on the spot. Strong local reputation, with repeat business from the same streets year after year. That’s the standard.
Our Energy-Efficient Windows Services in San Antonio
Low-E & Argon Gas Glass
Low-E coatings reflect infrared heat while letting visible light pass. In a San Antonio August, that’s the difference between a window that reads 140°F on the inside surface and one that stays near room temperature. We pair low-E coatings with argon gas fills because argon is denser than air and slows conductive heat transfer. On a hot afternoon in Lavaca, that combination can drop the center-of-glass temperature by 15 to 20 degrees. For older San Antonio homes with original single-pane sashes, this is the single largest efficiency upgrade you can make without moving walls.
ENERGY STAR Replacement Windows
ENERGY STAR has four climate zones in Texas alone. San Antonio falls in the South-Central zone, which means the certification focuses on solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) as much as U-factor. A window that earns the label in Dallas may not perform the same way on the south wall of a stucco house in the 78204. We spec SHGC-optimized glass for west- and south-facing openings specifically because San Antonio’s afternoon heat is the real load. For any ENERGY STAR unit, expect roughly $600 to $1,200 per opening installed depending on rough-opening condition and finish options.
Double & Triple Pane Windows
Double-pane is the workhorse in San Antonio: two panes of glass, an insulating spacer, and a sealed air or gas cavity between them. Winter Storm Uri in February 2021 changed how many homeowners in San Antonio think about their windows. Single-digit cold shattered uninsulated panes and thermally-bridged metal frames all over the city. Since then, we’ve installed a lot of double-pane and triple-pane units rated for both thermal extremes, because this city gets both. A triple-pane unit with two argon-filled cavities and dual low-E coatings runs $850 to $1,450 per window. It’s the right call for the north side of a house that takes February wind straight off the Hill Country.
UV-Blocking & Fade Protection
San Antonio’s UV index sits in the very-high to extreme range from April through September. That’s hard on hardwood floors, upholstery, and artwork on the south side of a house. UV-blocking glass intercepts up to 99 percent of the spectrum that fades fabric and oxidizes wood finishes. We see it regularly in King William, where oak floors and period furniture sit directly in the path of unshaded afternoon sun. It costs $60 to $110 more per window than standard low-E glass and is worth that money the first time you’d otherwise refinish a floor.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Antonio
TruePane is an authorized installer for more than a dozen manufacturer lines, including PGT, CGI, and Ply Gem. That matters in San Antonio because warranty claims need local parts and a local installer who can handle them. When a PGT impact unit develops a seal issue five years in, you don’t want to wait on a distributor in Houston. We stock common parts in our San Antonio service inventory and can handle most manufacturer service calls in a single visit. We’ll quote the lines side by side so you see exactly what each one costs and what each warranty covers, in writing.
Common Energy-Efficient Windows Problems We See in San Antonio Homes
- Fogged double-panes on houses built before 2000. The original IGU seals fail after years of San Antonio heat cycling between 100-degree afternoons and cool nights. Argon leaks out, condensation forms between the panes, and the U-factor climbs back up until the insulating value is barely better than a single pane.
- Sashes that bind and stick within a few seasons of a new install. This is almost always the black-clay. When the ground moves, the rough opening moves with it, and a window set into an out-of-square frame warps. A shop that doesn’t know San Antonio soil will tell you it’s a product defect. We’ll tell you the frame racked and the window needs re-shimming.
- Rotted jambs hidden behind stucco at the window head. Spanish Colonial Revival homes in and around the 78201 and 78204 hold moisture against the dimensional lumber at the top of the window. By the time the sash starts binding or the stucco cracks, the jamb is usually gone. We open the wall, cut out the rot, and set the new unit in a properly flashed opening before the dry rot spreads.
- Original single-pane wood sashes in historic-district homes. These windows aren’t square, they’re not standard, and a catalog replacement won’t fit without cutting into the frame. On protected homes in King William, Monte Vista, and Lavaca, that triggers a Certificate of Appropriateness you have to have in hand before any work begins. We handle that paperwork start to finish.
Pricing for Energy-Efficient Windows in San Antonio, TX
Here’s what we tell San Antonio homeowners when they ask for straight numbers. A standard-size double-pane low-E replacement window installed in a house built after 1980 runs $550 to $900 per opening. In a pre-1950 bungalow with a non-standard rough opening, count on $800 to $1,200. Triple-pane runs $850 to $1,450. If we open the wall and find rotted framing or failed waterproofing, the repair gets priced and approved in writing before we touch it. Your quote won’t move because the soil moved.
Window energy audits in San Antonio run $150 to $400 depending on the size of the house. We’ll map the heat loss with a thermal camera, show you exactly where the envelope is leaking, and give you a line-by-line report. Then we’ll quote the work the same way. Call (888) 635-0804 to schedule your free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Antonio
Our San Antonio crews cover the close-in suburbs and surrounding communities, including Lackland A F B, Kelly Usa, Converse, and Adkins. If you’re just outside the city line, give us a call at (888) 635-0804 and we’ll confirm coverage and schedule a time. Same live person on the phone, same TruePane standard, same written quote.
Serving San Antonio, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Antonio area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Energy-Efficient Windows in San Antonio
Yes. King William is a certified historic district under San Antonio’s Office of Historic Preservation, and any window replacement visible from the street requires a Certificate of Appropriateness before demolition or installation begins. The review typically takes a few weeks, and the application needs drawings, photos, and details on the replacement units. We handle the paperwork, submit the package, and don’t schedule the install until the COA is approved. Call (888) 635-0804 and we’ll walk you through it.
Sometimes. Fog between panes means the insulated glass unit’s seal has failed, and in a Monte Vista home the first thing we check is whether the frame has racked on the black-clay soil. A racked frame flexes the IGU and can kill the seal even on a brand-new unit. If it’s a manufacturer defect, the warranty covers it. If the frame moved, the window needs re-shimming before the new unit goes in. We’ll diagnose the root cause before we quote the fix. Call (888) 635-0804 for an inspection and we’ll explain exactly what failed.
We photograph it, show you what we found, and give you a written price to fix it before we do any additional work. On stucco-clad Spanish Colonial homes, hidden rot at the window head is common in San Antonio because the hard coat traps moisture against the wood. The repair usually runs $300 to $900 per opening depending on the extent of the damage, and it includes new flashing tape, a drainage plane, and primed dimensional lumber. No surprise line items on the back end. You approve every dollar in writing before we spend it.
They were installed plumb. Then the ground moved. San Antonio sits on expansive black-gumbo clay that heaves with every wet spring and settles in every dry summer. A window set perfectly square today can be 1/4 to 3/8 inch out of square within a few seasons, and that’s enough to make the sash drag and bind. Contractors who don’t know this will tell you it’s a defect. We know it’s the soil, and we quote trim-back and re-shimming as a normal maintenance item, not a warranty fight. We’ll do the same for your house.
Look for the South-Central ENERGY STAR window, with a U-factor of 0.30 or lower and an SHGC of 0.23 or lower. That combination handles both the 100-degree August sun and the single-digit February nights we got in Winter Storm Uri. On south- and west-facing windows, push the SHGC even lower if you can. On a north wall, the U-factor matters more than anything. We’ll spec each opening by orientation and show you the numbers before you buy. Call (888) 635-0804 to schedule a free estimate.
What Opening Up an Old San Antonio House Actually Turns Up
We’ve done this enough times to say it straight: on a pre-1950 house in San Antonio, the window replacement is rarely just a window replacement. On a 1920s Craftsman bungalow in Monte Vista, we pulled original double-hung wood sashes to find failed flashing tape and rotted jambs. The black-gumbo clay had racked the rough opening 5/16 inch out of square. Before that job, we’d already secured the Certificate of Appropriateness from the Office of Historic Preservation. Then we custom-milled replacement jambs, integrated new flashing tape at the head, and set a low-E, argon-filled insulated glass unit in a fusion-welded frame rated for both single-digit cold and 100-degree UV. The point: in this city, the historic overlay and the shifting soil are on the same job. A contractor who doesn’t know both will quote you a catalog price and then hand you the surprise after the wall is open. We write the allowance into the contract up front. Any additional work gets priced and approved in writing before we proceed. That’s the square deal, and it’s the only way we work in San Antonio.
Written by Dale Kessler, Owner at TruePane Windows & Doors, serving San Antonio.