Florida is probably not the state you think of when you hear the name Palm Springs. But this town has it all over that other Palm Springs – who wants to live in the desert, when you can live in sunny Florida, with access to beaches and the warm waters of the ocean? It’s a great place to call home, the town council says, and they are right, but only if you’re prepared for hurricane season.
Hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th each year, and Florida is the state most often hit or brushed by tropical storms. Whether it’s a storm or it turns into a hurricane, the high winds and torrential rain can mean damage to your home and property. And that’s not even mentioning the tornadoes that often come with hurricanes and storms. These can come up suddenly for days after the hurricane passes.
So what should a Palm Springs resident do to protect their home? They should make sure the points of entry into their home are protected. One way to do this is to install hurricane shutters – but a better way of protecting your home is to install impact hurricane windows. Impact hurricane windows are rated and approved by stringent Miami-Dade codes, and Florida state codes. They can withstand very high winds – think 150 and above – and missile impacts from debris thrown at high speed by wind gusts during the storm. They won’t shatter, and they won’t shower you with shards of glass flying through the air. The glass in these windows is coated with the same type of thing that is used on car windshields; but impact hurricane windows come in two panes of glass with a strengthening lining between the two layers. You can’t beat that kind of storm protection – shatter proof and three strong layers between your home and the storm.
The most common damage to homes during hurricanes is water entering the house – impact hurricane windows keep this from happening, and they are a great barrier. Not only will they not let water through the glass, the heavy duty aluminum framing fits tightly in the space, keeping out water leakage and air leakage around the window as well.
There’s no better kind of window than an impact hurricane window, and the federal government agrees: that’s why they’re giving you a tax credit just for installing these types of windows on your home. You can get up to $500 right off your yearly taxes when you install these energy efficient windows. Make sure to ask your dealer or contractor for you tax credit paperwork when you buy them for your home.
