Andersen A-Series: Specs, Testing Data & Idaho Fit

Specifications & Testing Data

What the A-Series Actually Is

The Andersen A-Series is the top of Andersen's Architectural Collection and, by Andersen's own description, the best-performing and most energy-efficient window the company has built. It was designed from the outside in around architecture — the profiles, grille patterns, hardware, and colors are organized by home style, so a Craftsman, a farmhouse, a Colonial, and a contemporary can each get a window that looks like it belongs rather than a generic unit with different trim.

The construction is a three-material sandwich. Inside is solid wood: pine as standard, with oak, maple, and several other species available, unfinished or factory-finished in one of 13 interior colors. The exterior sash is fiberglass and the exterior frame is Fibrex composite, both chosen because they expand and contract very little between an Idaho January and an Idaho July. That dimensional stability is what keeps weatherstrip contact consistent year after year. Exteriors come in 11 colors that Andersen warrants against peeling, blistering, fading, and corrosion.

In the lineup it sits above the 400 Series and beside the aluminum-clad E-Series. The A-Series is the higher-performing of the two; the E-Series is the more customizable.

The Numbers That Matter

Andersen publishes NFRC total-unit ratings for the A-Series in both dual-pane and triple-pane tables (2023-24 product guide), and the spread is wide enough that the glass decision matters more than the window decision:

Values are U-factor / SHGC without grilles; grilles add roughly 0.01–0.02.

The dual-pane numbers are similar to a 400 Series casement — good, not exceptional. The reason to buy an A-Series shows up in the right-hand columns. Andersen's Enhanced Low-E4 with HeatLock gets a dual-pane picture window to 0.18, and triple-pane casements and pictures test at 0.16–0.17. Under ENERGY STAR Version 7.0 the Northern zone that covers Idaho requires U ≤ 0.22, and the A-Series is the Andersen wall window that meets it across the board. Andersen has also had A-Series triple-pane units certified by the Passive House Institute US, which is a meaningful credential for the handful of high-performance builds going up around the valley each year.

Structurally, the casement is Hallmark certified to Class LC-PG50 (DP +50/-50) at 35.3 by 71.3 inches. Casements reach 4 feet wide by 8 feet tall in 1/8-inch increments.

Where It Fits in Idaho — and Where It Doesn't

We put the A-Series on three kinds of jobs. Custom and high-end semi-custom homes in the foothills, the Eagle-to-Star corridor, and the Boise Bench, where the architect or designer has specified a look and the exposure calls for DP 50 and low U-factors. Historic replacements in the North End, East End, and Hyde Park, where design review wants authentic double-hung proportions, divided lites, and wood interiors — the A-Series double-hung passes where composite and vinyl do not. And energy-driven retrofits where the owner wants the lowest U-factor available in a wood window and is willing to pay for triple glazing.

Where it is the wrong buy: a typical 1990s–2000s replacement on a subdivision lot does not need a 0.16 window or 11 exterior colors, and the money is better spent on the 400 Series or the Fibrex 100 Series. If your project is really about size and color freedom rather than energy — a 10-foot picture unit in a custom RAL color, say — the E-Series does that better. And if you want a fiberglass-exterior wood window and prefer Marvin's aesthetic, the Marvin Ultimate is a fair competitor we also carry; we will quote both.

Warranty and Service, Locally

The A-Series carries Andersen's Owner-to-Owner limited warranty — 20 years on glass, 10 on non-glass components — transferable to a subsequent owner. The fiberglass and Fibrex exterior is covered against peeling, flaking, blistering, and corrosion under the same terms.

On an A-Series job the install matters as much as the unit: these are heavier, larger windows with tight tolerances, and the shimming and flashing have to be right for the DP rating and air-infiltration numbers to mean anything. Wood Windows Inc installs with its own employee crews and handles every Andersen warranty call from Garden City. 46 years in, we have never handed that work to a subcontractor.

To price an A-Series package from your plans, or to see it next to a 400 Series or Marvin Ultimate quote, use the form on this page or call (208) 376-2200.

Last reviewed 2026-09-10 by Wood Windows Inc — (208) 376-2200