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Okna Windows Reviews
Read 12 Okna 500 windows reviews from both consumers and industry experts on the Insultec window series.
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dane@replacementwindowsreviews.co
Related Topics: Okna Windows Prices | Okna Reviews
Editor's Okna 500 Window Review
The 500 model is going to be on the thinner side compared with other vinyl windows, which consumers are going to like (more viewing area, less frame.) Other window companies often market a thinner frame, but these come with worse performance, while the 500 maintains some nice energy efficiency marks. (If someone asked me, what is the best window for the price, I would have to mention the 500 Series with the Deluxe glass package) The 700 series is their casement and awnings and they are comparable in quality and cost to the 500 Series.
Okna Window Warranty
The Okna warranty is one of the strongest in the business. It covers the windows for the life of the owner and is completely transferable to another homeowner. It's a single page warranty that you can actually read, instead of the some 3 page tiny print warranty that looks like its written by a team of lawyers and full of confusing language.
Tim - Site Editor - from 2015
Okna 500 Series vs Vista Panorama Windows
Hi, trying to decide beaten Okna 500 series and Vista Panorama. Any thoughts. Each would have interior grid. Does a grid inside the window affect energy efficiency! I lve in Wisc and U factor is important to me.
Susan - Homeowner - from 2016
[Site Editor's Response]
Susan, these are both excellent windows, although I would definitely say the Okna 500 is the better window of the two. If you go with the Okna 500 window with an argon gas, a foam fill insulation, and a low-e glass, you should be able to expect a .25 U-value, Design Pressure of 50, a .30 SHGC, a .54 Visible Transmittance, and a .02 air infiltration. All extremely good numbers. If you upgrade to their Deluxe package, you can actually get the U-value down to like .18.
The Vista Panorama offers a similar U-factor of .26, along with a .25 SHGC, .43 Visible Transmittance and 63 condensation resistance. Although I don't have the air infiltration numbers for the Panorama, this is where I would imageine the Okna will beat out the Vista model. I like both windows, but I do think the Okna 500 is the better of the two.
Tim - Site Editor - from 2016
Okna 500 vs Soft-Lite Bainbridge
So here is what I'm looking at, Okna 500 deluxe glass package. Ratings per the dealer are u.25, sghc .27, vt.49, CR.62 and AI should be one quite close to Sunrise. This is priced within as the Soft-Lite Bainbridge +/- $1.5-$2k I was hoping for a better shgc for Atlanta sun as my house faces East.
Ted - Homeowner - from 2016
[Site Editor's Response]
Ted, the 500 Okna series is excellent, one of my favorite windows out there. Ask them if you can custom order with a lower shgc using a different low-e coating mix, that should be a possibility, especially for those windows that face south or have constant sun exposure. I would probably put the Sunrise and the Okna 500 on par with one another, although I would probably go with the Okna 500 if it were me. I really do like these windows.
Dane - Site Editor - from 2016
Okna 500 vs Power SL2700 Windows
Hi Tim, I am in need of window replacement and while doing some google searching I found your site. There is a lot of good information on it, but there is a window I don't see. Last night I had power remodeling at my house. They use a sl 2700 window that is made by northeast building products. I was trying to compare this window to other brands like say okna, but can't find much. Are you familiar with this company/product?
Jeff - Homeowner - from 2016
[Site Editor's Response]
Jeff, in terms of how Northeast Building Products they compare to Okna, I would say Okna would be the clear winner. Just in terms of the warranty, the Okna is going to serve you much better (and I would think the odds would be lower that you would have to use it). The big question is going to be cost, how these two brands compare with one another. The Okna 500 InsulTec model is a great window and would be the model I would use in my home if I was going to get replacement windows.
Let me know how it goes and also let me know how your experience is with Power so that I can let others know, good or bad. Thanks!
Tim - Site Editor - from 2016
Okna 500 Series vs Simonton 6500 VantagePoint
Question, comparison and your opinion on window options. We own a rental townhouse and need to replace the old aluminum windows. We have 16 windows and the HOA requires them to be installed flanged/new construction. We have received quotes on Okna 500 series for $8800 (I was happy to see how well you rate Okna in some of the responses I've found on this site), Great Lakes Bay Shore for $9700 and Simonton 6500 VantagePoint from HD for $13666. We aren't looking to spend a ton since this is an investment property but we plan to hold it for income into our retirement years and we are in our young 40s now. My husband just asked for Lowes to come out and quote for us on Monday for a cheaper window they sell and will install, since we found out from Home Depot that they won't install the cheaper windows they sell online. What would you do?
Melissa - Homeowner - from 2016
[Site Editor's Response]
Melissa, I'm surprised that the Okna 500 series is so much cheaper than the other options. The Okna 500 is better than the Great Lakes Bayshore window and the Simonton 6500 VantagePoint. Not to say that the Bayshore or VantagePoint windows are bad, they are solidly middle of the road. The Okna is just a better window and the performance data backs this up. I'm VERY surprised by the price that HD quoted you out at, $850 per window for the 6500 series seems like way too much. The price you got on the Okna 500 at $550 installed for new construction is quite good. I'd schedule it if I were you.
Tim - Site Editor - from 2016
Okna 500 vs 800 Series
The contractor reviews say the Okna 800 is one of the very best windows. The U value is .36. The 500 U is .25. Seems like the 500 would be a better choice. What am I missing?
Mark - Homeowner - from 2015
[Site Editor's Response]
Mark, there are so many variables when it comes to testing windows that it's easy to see numbers (especially online) that sort of spin the truth one way of the other. Check out the nfrc.org website. Go to verify ratings, residential, serach by manufacturer - compare the Okna 500 vs 800 against one another and you should see very similar numbers. The U-factor on their standard low-e glass should be MUCH less than that. The 500 is an excellent window and honestly probably the better value. The 800 is a top of the line vinyl window that will have similar numbers, if anything just slightly better numbers.
Tim - Site Editor - from 2015
Okna 500 Series vs Sunrise
I received quotes for Sunrise and Okna 500 windows, Okna 500 being $300 cheaper. The salesperson told me that Sunrise uses Cardinal glass which is much better than Okna's glass. Is that the case? Also, which is better Sunrise or Okna 500, if I am considering replacing two double hung windows with one slider (76 x 48)?
Natalie - Homeowner - from 2015
[Site Editor's Response]
Natalie, I've never heard that the Sunrise glass is better than Okna. I don't actually know what type of glass Okna uses. I would say this - ask the salesperson to give you the U-factor, air infitration and Design Pressure numbers for the Sunrise and Okna 500 and see how they compare. The lower the U-factor and AI the better - with DP numbers, the higher the better (not as important, but I'm just curious). Make sure he is comaring apples to apples, the standard low-e glass with argon fills. Okna has some pretty awesome AI numbers.
I've always been under the impression that the Okna would perform slightly better than the Sunrise. I would LOVE to hear what he says. Beyond this, both of these vinyl windows are excellent. I would say at this point that the installation quality would be more important than deciding between two very well performing vinyl windows.
Dane - Site Editor - from 2015
Okna 500 Insultec vs 400 Series
Hi Dane, I am looking to install the OKNA windows and have requested the installer in my area about the 500 series. He told me the 500 is not used for replacement windows but for new construction. Yet I see from a number of reviews this is not so. They only carry the 400 and can obtain the 800 but they informed me there is minimal difference.
From what I read I feel like u am not being provided full disclosure. How do I find an installer who carries the 500 series. I live in Easton PA.
Kind regards,
Ann - Homeowner - from 2015
[Site Editor's Response]
Ann, the 500 Series or Insul Tec is listed right on their website under replacement windows so unless something has changed with their line up that I am unaware of, I don't what he's talking about. Yes, something seems a bit off about the person you are working with.
I tried to contact Okna, but I couldn't get an actual person on the phone to see if anything has changed. I would suggest filling in your information on their website and see what they come back with in terms of installers in your area. I would also suggest getting a couple of additional bids, Sunrise and Soft-Lite should be in your area.
Tim - Site Editor - from 2015
Okna 500 Double Hungs
I'm currently looking to replace some old steel casement windows in my home, which was built in 1950. I was interested in the Okna 500 series in the double hung style, but the only local dealer in my area which carries Okna windows only seems to deal the 400 and 800 series. While looking at the 400 series display in their showroom, it looked to me that the 400 series features an interior weeping system, but the brochure they gave me on the 400 series features a picture of the double hung which appears to have holes in the exterior sill for external weeping (not sure if that's the correct terminology) and it doesn't explicitly state anything about the weeping system. I'm thinking either the dealer's display model was old/outdated or that the picture in the brochure was not of an actual window.
Does anyone know which type of weeping system the Okna 400 windows use?
Jason - Homeowner - from 2015
[Site Editor's Response]
Hi Jason, it's interesting you are having an issue finding the 500 Series, someone else just mentioned having the same problem, not sure why the local rep would not carry their most popular replacement window model. You may want to submit your information to their website and see if any additional dealers are available in your area. The best way that I can explain this is that the weep holes on the 400 Series are secondary drain paths. The window has a 1 piece sloped sill that properly drains most or all of the water and is the best sill system on the market. The weep holes on the 400 are there as a sort of conduit for water in the event of sustained rain.
Tim - Site Editor - from 2015
[2nd Response]
The Harvey Tribute is a decent window, but it can't compare to the Okna. The Okna 500 has a U-factor of .25, DP structural rating of 50, and air leakage is somewhere around .02. The Harvey has just OK numbers - U-factor .30, DP 30, and over 0.1 for air leakage. The Harvey loses in every way.
Michael - Contractor in New Jersey - from 2012
Related Topics: Harvey Window Reviews