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We have double-pane windows + storm windows but can still feel the cold ai so it is clear that the windows are big sources of heat loss. Our solution is to put addition insulation panels over the windows at night and hold them in place with heavy drapes.
The insulation panels are made from Reflectix roll. You can get them at pretty much any hardware store (Home Depot, Lowes etc)
The cut-to-size Reflectix panels are very easy to put up and taken down. It takes only a minute or so for each window. When they are down, we just roll or fold the panels and put them near the windows.
These Reflectix panels are also used during the summer to keep the house cool on very hot days. At night, the cool air is sucked in the house with window fans through window/door storm screens. When the sun is up, we pull down the double pane windows and block the sun with the Reflectix panels. This keeps the indoor house temperature in the upper 70's even when the outside temperatures are in the 90's.
Our TV room has six floor-to-ceiling windows with plantation shutters that we keep closed most of the time in winter. We definitely feel the cold coming from the even though they are double paned and covered by the shutters, so during those months we keep three large fleece blankets in the room so we can burrow under them to stay warm. We keep our thermostat set at 73 degrees during waking hours, but sitting next to the windows it still gets cold.
... Since this thing is really long and I am really tired I am stopping here, but if there is any interest in more in depth discussion of some of the stuff I mentioned previously or moving on into triple panes, and so on...more than happy to keep going...
Ooh, I would love to learn more. Your post was incredibly helpful. Could you discuss triple pane windows when you get a chance?
I am also very interested in Passive Solar construction, and installing the proper windows is very important to maximize solar gain in the winter, but also to keep the heat inside the home and not overheat it in the summer. Do you have any experience with that or care to offer any advice on the subject? It seems like blocking the higher summer sun on the south and west sides is key to preventing overheating... especially if the windows are built for solar gain. What else do I need to know about the windows themselves? Especially to maximize solar gain in the colder months and keep the home as airtight as possible.
Thanks in advance for any light you care to shed on this confusing subject!
Newbie question, is there something like a window tint film that I can apply to the inside of the window? Not the use & throw 3m plastic cling wrap kind, but more permanent.
I am here in NC and last 2 weeks was very cold. We are first time home owners. Home ins late 2006 build. I am guessing windows are double pane glass. I see that the inside of the windows feel very cold when I touch the glass. There is no leakage or draft.
Doing it yourself saves a ton of $$. I see a guy spent $4,000 for 8 windows. I have done 10 so far for around $2,000.00. I just used basic anderson silverlines with colonial grid.
With the rear of the house done so far, we have dropped the thermostat by 5 degrees. Our windows were original to the home and the old style wood with glazed glass. You could literally feel the air seeping in.
We installed our 11 Andersen100s for $3800. The best part is how sparkling and clear they are. We did not realize how cloudy the old ones were. To me, this is even more of an advantage than the energy savings...they bring the outside in.
The replacement window industry (for the most part, this goes for insert and new construction windows in older homes) is a scam on the American public for not being upfront and truthful in their sales pitch. They will give the consumer the impression that their windows will solve all problems. The new window may be a little tighter and reduce air infiltration, but that's just at the window, how about the rest of the house??
Take a window screen as an example of your entire home and place it in the opening of your window with no glass. Now cover 50% of that screen with a piece of cardboard. Did covering that screen make a difference to air infiltration? Did it help with insulation? Nope!
As important as high quality windows and their proper installation are (critical), windows are only one part of the equation.
When I speak with home owners replacing their windows, I also talk about stripping the entire home down to the sheathing, installing high quality insulation board (not that junk you see siding companies installing), new construction windows properly flashed to a new weather resistant barrier and their choice of siding. Pack the attic with new insulation and blow in insulation into the walls from the exterior. That done, I can HONESTLY tell you that you will see a lower energy bill.
Want to take a step further? Let’s evaluate your heating and A/C system.
The public has been conditioned (brainwashed) by the industries to believe a quick fix will do the trick. People want to hear what they want to hear, and the shame of it all you are still paying out big bucks for little in return.
This is the second time I have replaced my windows in 10 years.
The first were put in around 2004 and they were not argon filled
and had metal spacers. The condensation was half-way up the
windows all the time and ice formed almost each night it got cold
I got new energy star double pane windows in the summer 8
in total and now I am not noticing the house any warmer in fact
some time it seems colder.
It is a75 year old house and all the walls are insulated upstairs,
the attic has 2 feet of insulation blown in and the hatched sealed
shut. Even the fireplace is sealed too as I never use it.
I stand in front of the windows and it seems like there is no window
there. The condensation is not as bad but during the last two nights
with the extreme cold all 8 windows had small streaks of ice on them
over night.
I feel like selling the house and moving after spending $4000 on these
windows and having the furnace run more than ever,
1. Since we had almost all our windows replaced in a house we bought a few years
ago, I learned some things.
-- Prior to moving from the North, we replaced most of the windows with gas filled (?)
good quality windows and good sliding doors.
-- There's no way to really tell if there's argon in the window but all, if not most, claim
there's the gas in it.
2. There's also an issue with "Energy Star Compliant" claims but that would be a different
thread. It may be set by the EPA but I believe (without proof - couldn't find it) energystar.gov
depends on the companies to do their own testing.
3. We knew that there was no way in which we could ensure there was actually argon in
them. There is not. They are double-pane and are better than what we had here and we paid
what you did. I don't trust the marketing and we needed windows. I don't know
if it makes a difference.
But we're in the non-thinking, herding mentality. Marketers claim windows
have gas in them, they're better! They can charge more that way.
Another simple and inexpensive way to improve the draft around windows is to put on one of those insulation kits. (For some windows you could even leave them on after the cold weather is over.) You attach the plastic to the framing with a tape that comes in the kit, then use a hair dryer to warm the plastic film, shrinking it and making it fit snugly. You can still see well out of the windows and the film keeps air from coming into the house. I used them when I had a drafty apartment. Actually LOVED installing them. Maybe someone can recall the name of the product?
We installed insulated and pleated blinds over our double pane windows. We take advantage of passive solar during the day through them, but you have to seal them off at night. The blinds do a pretty good job of doing that. They are fitted inside the opening frame, less than an 1/8" from either side.
As I type this it is 10 degrees outside. Very cold and going to get colder.
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