We went with the Triple pane apex package (ultra-u plus8). We're in MN and suffer from both weather extremes. The windows are not yet installed, they were just ordered after before the Christmas. We are actually just doing two double casements first and will live with them for a few months before purchasing more. i want to make sure I truly like our windows before committing another $20-30k for the rest of our windows and doors. Yes, it cost more doing it this way, but I'm ok to pay a bit more to ensure I'm happy.

A few observations Leelee: -I think that some of your info may be incomplete or inaccurate. You should see a change in the u value from lowe2 to lowe3, and the shgc should go down, not up. -In MN, you should ideally look for a U-value as low as possible, and a shgc that is moderate to high, higher on the southern elevation if you have a fair amount of glass space that gets good sun. The better products are getting u values in the .25-.27 range in double pane with shgc still over .25+ (without grids). -If you are looking at casements, pocket sills are not a concern, and air infiltration can be slightly less of a concern as casement units are the "tightest" configuration. That said, .06 for a casement is not very good. Higher and even mid-level options are getting as low as .01, if not at least below .05. Design pressure will typically run in a range between 25 and 75 (some a little lower and some higher) and will be listed something like DP50, R50, or LC50, depending on where you look, how it is tested, etc. You really want to be over 50 on a casement IMO. DP tests the wind load primarily, and gives a great indication of structural integrity. - A solid design and build does become paramount with casements. They take a tremendous amount of stress when open, so the quality of the unit will show itself rather quickly. I've seen builder grade vinyl casements warp and twist to the point of being nearly inoperable in less than 5 yrs. Probably an extreme example, but you get the idea. -In MN you should have access to most of the better products commonly mentioned around here. Sunrise and Okna/Himark are probably my two favorite vinyl casements, but Softlite/Gorell, Polaris, and some others make great units as well.

DoorProz & Homesealed, I thank you both! I have not made up my mind yet but I did know before posting, that I was not going with American Jewel and that is why I emailed the installer/store back and told them to give me a quote for the Sunrise as I knew he was a sunrise dealer since his name and store was given to me last year from Sunrise.. Tomorrow night, I have a Okna approved dealer coming by whose name was given to me last year when I was going to get windows but decided to wait as they were so much money. I will share everything when I get my other quote and then I will make a decision. Anderson Renewal is not being considered and I do not want American Jewel windows despite the specs looking the same after doing reviews the other day. Thank you both and everyone on this forum that posted above for sharing what you know. Anyone else who wants to give input to this thread, that would be helpful. Homesealed, thank you for letting me know that the entry door and sliding doors is a good choice. :)

David, I really wanted to come back here and say I got the windows I wanted, but we went with the Alside windows instead. We really just didn’t have a good feeling about the other companies & I knew that other people just paid half what they were wanting to charge us. I know it’s probably the busy season, so they can do that, but I can’t buy something from someone I don’t feel good about, no matter how good the product. The guys just started this week and will be back Monday to put in the replacement windows and finish everything up. So far, I’m really happy I went with my gut. The windows are not even good looking compared to the other windows we saw, but they are worth what I paid and I definitely did not feel like the Pella‘s or Andersen’s were worth what they quoted. The guys doing the work have done an excellent job on the construction portion so far and they are clean workers & very respectful. So far with just one window and a sliding door replaced our house is holding a steady temperature and it never did before. You couldn’t sit in the dining room in the summer without breaking a sweat. You can’t even feel the heat now. So basically, we’ll hang curtains and shades like we did before, you won’t even see most of the windows. If these windows don’t leak and last a few years, we’ll be happy for the price we paid & we paid what the other companies quoted for the construction alone:/