I have aluminum windows and love the aesthetic, we can't get the vinyl ones in a black frame that's perfect for our house. That being said they are definitely not energy efficient, but that may be different if you are putting new ones in.

We had them in a rental but it was an older apartment that was built in 1955. The aluminum frames sweated with visible water drops - hopefully they've solved that problem by now.

Thanks Bergies! I too like that I can get the aluminum in a dark metal color. That was another reason I wanted aluminum. I hope these days they have better energy efficiency,

Thanks Maire.... I hope so too!

Our mid-80's home had cheap aluminum windows that I hated. Poor quality, poor energy efficiency, difficult to operate. A better quality aluminum might be available now. We replaced the aluminum windows with vinyl double pane, energy efficient windows and are very happy. WRT energy efficiency you should be able to compare ratings between the different windows options you are considering to see if you are compromising there for the look you want.

I love the visual appearance of the thinner aluminum frames, and I'm sure they have improved their efficiency since they are in every high rise and skyscraper in the US.

I have one left in this house . It sweats and the air near it is cold. I spent alot of time sleeping on a window seat at a new hospital last fall and it was very cold the closer I got to that window .

We just replaced a pair of 8 ft steel sliders in an MCM house. Only place we found that size and the lower profile aluminum frame (to match another set in the house) was commercial, custom. Think the frames were from Kawneer thru a local commercial company. They are things of beauty tho - what an improvement.

We have the old 70's aluminum windows, tall and skinny, so not a lot of light. When we had window companies come out, we didn't like the vinyl either, due to the "chunky" appearance letting in less light.
I've gone to the Windows forum here on GW - they were very helpful, and recommended fiberglass windows. Those have the skinnier profile like aluminum. We're a few years away from replacing them - got to pay off some of this present remodel first. However, I live in the deep south, so the cold isn't really a problem -- it's the heat. We do have to keep the thermostat at 72 to keep it cool in here, but that's not too bad.

We have aluminum windows. We put in several windows first and they do sweat. But the last ones are thermally broken and don't sweat. If we stay here, we'll replace the ones we replaced originally even though they have a lifetime warranty. Not worth it though if I have to clean moisture off the window sill every cold morning.

Maggie,
We are looking into commercial for the living and dining bc we have a view and want to have a wall of windows so we can enjoy it.

Southern, we live in South Texas too. Fiberglass would be great but would blow our budget out of the water! I wish we could do fiberglass!

Marti, are you replacing with aluminum again? I was not sure I understood what you wrote.

Yes, aluminum. We replaced the first windows in 2006, and they weren't thermally broken and sweat when it is cold. If we end up staying here, I would like to replace them with thermally broken ones, but still aluminum. We've just got too many other things to do right now than to replace perfectly functioning windows.

We had bronze aluminum, thermal paned windows in our previous home and loved them. Like you, we had a great view and the windows allowed us to enjoy it to the max!

Thanks Marti and Ann! Your input really helps in making a decision.