FTC warns window companies about energy-savings claims

Federal Trade Commission warned 14 window manufacturers that the energy-savings claims that the companies make about their products might mislead consumers.

FTC sent a letter to each manufacturer on Aug. 29 that orders the manufacturers to review the claims that they make about their replacement windows.

FTC says it hasn’t determined whether the manufacturers’ claims violated any laws. But the claims were similar to those that were made by five other manufacturers whose claims were found earlier this year to exaggerate the benefits of their products.

The 14 manufacturers to whom FTC sent warning letters are as follows: Acadia Windows & Doors, Nationwide Window & Siding, Newpro, Pace Window and Door, PalManufacturing, Sierra Pacific Windows, SureGuard Windows, SwissShade + Security, Thompson Creek Window, Value Windows & Doors, Vytex Windows, Weather Shield, and West Window. FTC also sent a letter to Cardinal Glass Industries, which supplies glass to many window manufacturers.

In February 2012, FTC settled claims against five manufacturers, Gorell Enterprises, Long Fence and Home, Serious Energy, THV Holdings and Winchester Industries, for making unsubstantiated energy-efficiency claims about their windows.