In the first installment of this blog we discussed weatherizing your home, starting with checking for air leaks. Now that you’ve found the leaks, you need to cover them up. It would be great if you could do this without paying outrageous prices, right? Now that we’re all on the same page, let’s talk about weatherizing your home for less.
How to insulate your windows for a good price
A cheap way to insulate your home is to use Interior storm windows, also called storms. Storms have a channel system and plastic spline which produce a seal in the front of a window, allowing for proper insulation. They are installed by connecting the lengths of adhesive channels around the window frame. By spreading the clear vinyl across the window face and holding it together with a plastic strip (spline) that locks into the plastic channel, installation is complete. The vinyl of the interior storm windows can be used again year after year if properly handled. Storms can be found at a fairly cheap price, costing you as little as $7.00 apiece.
How to insulate your windows for an even better price
An even cheaper insulator is the plastic window film. Using double-sided tape you seal around the glass door, window grouping, or window with the clear film made of plastic. The double-sided tape closes off crevices and cracks. In addition, it shrinks tightly to provide a wrinkle-free, clear fit. Plastic window film can be found in varying sizes for the perfect fit for your window, and are easy to install.
How to insulate your windows for FREE
Can you recall being a kid and getting more excited over the bubble wrap in the box than the toy that was in this same box? With bubble wrap, an exacto knife, and a spray bottle you can insulate one window for less than one minute. Spray water onto the window, place the bubble side against the window, and use the knife to get rid of the excess. All winter the wrap will hold to the window (without staining) with water as the only adhesive. This free insulation will reduce your home’s energy usage and brings the R value of each window to 2 – not great but wonderful for being FREE. Silly as it may seem, bubble wrap is a great way to keep the warm air in and the cold air out.
I must admit, I had never thought of using bubble wrap as a way of getting free insulation, what a good idea. I don’t think most will use it for their living room windows for obvious reasons, but an interesting way of gaining free insulation to windows that are not so important.