Every replacement window company says roughly the same thing. Energy efficient. Beautiful. Built to last. You hear it so many times that the words stop meaning anything. After your third in-home estimate, you start to wonder whether all these windows are basically the same product with different logos on the frame.
They’re not. But you have to look past the marketing to see why.
The Acclaim window line from Renewal by Andersen has a handful of genuine differences that matter once you understand what you’re actually buying. Not differences you need a sales pitch to appreciate, but ones that show up in how the window performs, how it holds up over time, and how the whole process works from first phone call to final walkthrough.
Here’s what separates Acclaim from the rest of the pack.
Most window companies sell a ladder of options. Budget tier, mid-range, premium, ultra-premium. It makes for a nice sales presentation (“You could go with the basic, but let me show you what the upgraded version does…”), and it leaves a lot of homeowners second-guessing whether they should have spent more.
At Renewal By Andersen, we don’t do that. The Acclaim line is our only replacement window product. There’s no entry-level version hiding behind a smaller marketing budget, and no top-shelf upgrade designed to make the standard option feel like a compromise.
What you get instead is a company that puts all of its engineering, manufacturing, and quality control behind one product. Think of it this way: a restaurant with a 40-item menu is spreading its kitchen pretty thin. A restaurant that does five things and does them well? That’s usually where you want to eat.
The Acclaim line covers eight window styles with custom configurations. You’re not limited in what you can do with your home, and every option gets the same materials, construction standards, and attention to detail:
| Window Style | Description & Ideal Use |
|---|---|
| Double-Hung | Classic look with top and bottom sashes that operate vertically for easy ventilation and cleaning. |
| Casement | Hinged on the side and cranks outward, offering maximum airflow and unobstructed views. |
| Awning | Hinged at the top and opens outward, allowing ventilation even during light rain. |
| Picture | Stationary, non-opening window designed to maximize light, energy efficiency, and views. |
| Sliding | Glides horizontally on a track, ideal for spaces where outward-opening sashes aren’t practical. |
| Bay & Bow | Angled projections extending beyond exterior walls to add physical space, dimension, and ambient light. |
| Specialty Shapes | Custom geometric arches, angles, and curves available in 16 custom configurations. |
If you’ve done any reading about Renewal by Andersen, you’ve seen the word “Fibrex” come up. It sounds like it could be a brand name for just about anything, so here’s the plain version.
Fibrex is a composite material made from 40% reclaimed wood fiber and 60% thermoplastic polymer. The wood fiber comes largely from Andersen Corporation’s own manufacturing operations, which is a nice sustainability detail, but the real story is performance.
If you’ve ever seen a composite deck (Trex, TimberTech, that category), you already understand the basic idea. You’re combining the structural properties of wood with the weather resistance of engineered polymer. The result is a frame material that’s twice as strong as vinyl but doesn’t demand the maintenance that wood requires.
Here is how Fibrex stacks up against traditional window frame materials across key performance criteria:
| Property | Vinyl | Wood | Fibrex (Acclaim) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Structural Strength | Flexible; requires thicker frames | Strong, natural structural rigidity | Twice as strong as vinyl |
| Thermal Expansion | High; can loosen seals over time | Moderate; expands/contracts with humidity | Minimal; holds shape across temperature extremes |
| Maintenance Needs | Low maintenance; but breaks down over time | High; requires regular painting or staining | Low; resists rotting, warping, and cracking |
| Finish Durability | Can fade or chalk under intense sun | Paint/coating can chip, peel, or blister | Color fused into material; won’t peel or chip |
There’s also a detail that matters more than people expect: the color is fused into the Fibrex material during manufacturing. It’s not a paint or coating sitting on top of the frame. It’s part of the frame itself, which means it won’t peel, chip, or fade the way painted surfaces inevitably do.
No other major window manufacturer uses this material. It’s proprietary to Andersen Corporation, and in the replacement window market, the Acclaim line is where you’ll find it.
Here’s something that surprises a lot of homeowners: most replacement windows from big-box stores and many competitors come in standard sizes, typically costing between $2,000 and $5,000 per window depending on custom specifications and options. The installers measure your opening, pick the closest match, and then use shims, trim, and caulk to bridge the gaps.
That approach works. Millions of windows get installed that way every year. But it’s a compromise, and the compromise shows up in two places:
Every Acclaim window is manufactured to the specific measurements of each opening in your home. No stock sizes, no shimming to make things work. This matters most in older homes where frames have settled and nothing is perfectly square anymore, but it’s a meaningful quality difference in any house.
And because Renewal by Andersen handles both the measurement and the manufacturing in-house, there’s no game of telephone between the person who measured and the factory that builds the window. The same company owns both steps.
This is probably the single biggest thing that sets the Renewal By Andersen Acclaim installation experience apart.
When you buy windows through a retailer or big-box store, your project typically involves at least three separate parties: the manufacturer who built the window, the retailer who sold it, and the contractor who installed it. Each one carries their own warranty, their own customer service process, and their own opinion about what counts as their responsibility when something goes wrong.
You can probably guess how that plays out. The installer says it’s a manufacturing defect. The manufacturer says it was improper installation. You’re stuck in the middle making phone calls nobody wants to answer.
Renewal by Andersen handles the entire process under one roof. We run the initial consultation and measurement. We manufacture your windows to those exact specs. Our own Certified Master Installers handle the installation. And if anything goes wrong afterward, you call one number.
That single-point accountability is reflected in the comprehensive warranty coverage provided for Acclaim windows:
| Coverage Component | Term Length | Key Terms & Transferability |
|---|---|---|
| Fibrex Frames & Glass | 20 Years | No ongoing maintenance required to maintain validity; fully transferable to future homeowners. |
| Hardware & Components | 10 Years | Covers locks, hinges, handles, and internal balance mechanisms. |
| Installation Labor | 2 Years | Backed directly by Renewal by Andersen for work performed by Certified Master Installers. |
The Certified Master Installer piece deserves its own mention. These aren’t general contractors who install ten different brands of window. They’re trained specifically on Acclaim products, they know exactly how each style should be fitted, and they follow Renewal by Andersen’s installation protocol every time. That consistency matters. A beautifully engineered window installed poorly performs like a cheap one.
There’s a common assumption that replacement windows mean settling for white frames and calling it a day. The Acclaim line tells a different story, with 49 interior and exterior color combinations available.
Exterior options range from traditional whites and creams to darker tones like black, forest green, and Terratone (a warm brown that pairs well with brick and stone). Interior finishes include classic white and several woodgrain patterns for homeowners who want the look of a wood window without touching a paintbrush. Because the color is part of the Fibrex material itself, not a layer on top, it looks the same ten years from now as it does on install day.
The Acclaim line offers 49 interior and exterior color combinations alongside versatile hardware and design options:
| Design Category | Available Options & Features |
|---|---|
| Exterior Colors | Whites, creams, dark tones (black, forest green), and Terratone warm brown. |
| Interior Finishes | Classic white and stainable woodgrain finishes for a natural look without painting. |
| Hardware Finishes | Distressed nickel, bronze, antique brass, brushed chrome, and polished chrome. |
| Grille Patterns | Farmhouse, colonial, prairie, and modified prairie styles to complement architectural character. |
Then there’s the glass. The standard High-Performance Low-E4 glass package handles most climates well, but the SmartSun upgrade is worth knowing about. It blocks 95% of UV rays and cuts down significantly on solar heat gain. If you have a west-facing room that turns into an oven every summer afternoon, or furniture and floors that are fading from sun exposure, the SmartSun glass addresses both problems.
Renewal by Andersen also offers TruScene insect screens made with micro-fine stainless steel mesh. They let in more light and more airflow than traditional screens, which is one of those small upgrades you don’t think about until the windows are in and you notice the difference.
Every window company talks about energy efficiency. Here’s what it actually looks like with the Acclaim line.
Renewal by Andersen’s nine consecutive ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence awards reflect long-term leadership in energy-efficient products rather than a simple one-time qualification granted by the EPA.
Replacing old windows with ENERGY STAR certified windows lowers household energy bills by an average of 12% nationwide. Your mileage will vary depending on what you’re replacing. If your current windows are single-pane aluminum frames from the 1980s, you’ll see a dramatic improvement. If you’re upgrading from reasonable double-pane windows installed 15 years ago, the gains will be more modest, but still real. Especially in rooms that have always run too hot in summer or too cold in winter.
A few features work together to deliver those numbers. The Fibrex frame material resists the expansion and contraction that creates air gaps in vinyl frames. The custom fit eliminates the shimming that leaves small openings in standard-size installations. And the three-piece weatherstripping system, modeled after automotive door seals, creates a tighter closure than you’d find on most residential windows.
These aren’t features that jump out at you in a showroom. But you notice them in January when the room beside that north-facing window isn’t freezing for the first time in years. Or in August when you realize you haven’t cranked the AC up to compensate for that sun-soaked living room.
Renewal by Andersen has also been ranked number one by J.D. Power for customer satisfaction among window and patio door manufacturers for seven consecutive years. That’s not an energy metric, strictly speaking, but it tells you something about whether the real-world experience lives up to the spec sheet.
When every window company sounds the same, the differences that actually matter are the ones you can verify. What is the frame made of, and will it hold up? Was the window built for your specific house, or trimmed to fit from a standard size? Does one company own the entire process and stand behind it with a warranty that means something?
Those aren’t flashy selling points. You won’t find them in a 30-second commercial. But they’re the things that separate a window you forget about (in the best way) from one that reminds you it’s there every time the wind picks up or your energy bill arrives.
The Acclaim line was designed around those details. And if you’re in the middle of comparing options right now, they’re the questions worth asking every company on your list.
Ready to experience the Renewal by Andersen difference in your home? Schedule your free in-home consultation today to get a custom quote and explore your options with zero obligation.
