Especially in these times, everyone is looking for way to be more economical and save money on their heating costs. With the cost of using natural gas climbing higher and higher, it’s important for the average homeowner to get involved and gather all the information that they will need to ensure that their home is as ‘green’ as possible. To that end, every homeowner will want to make sure that the windows in their home are doing their part to reduce these costs.
The windows that are found in the newer homes that are built by conscientious builders are often made with double glass. This is considered to be the prime method of reducing heat loss through windows. Be warned here, that if you want to reduce the heat loss that you experience by putting in these dual windows, there is generally no other way to do that than to replace the entire window. If you’re not ready to take that step, which is often expensive, there are several things that you can do with your older windows that will significantly reduce the amount of heat that you lose.
Storm windows are one of the more common methods and they work by creating a dead air space that foils heat loss. They work in the same way as thermal windows but for the storm window to work properly there cannot be any gap between the window frame and the wall covering. Still there needs to be weep holes in the frame of the storm window to release condensation.
The type of storm window that you select to use in your home depends on the kind of existing windows that you have. For example, if you’ve got the newer type vinyl windows in your home you might not be able to find an existing storm window that will fit. As an example, some sliding aluminum windows have interchangeable screens or storm windows that slide into channels that are specially created for that purpose. It’s also possible to go to custom window shops and get custom sizes made up for a variety of different sized windows. These ones generally have a weather strip that’s been conveniently placed around the interior edges and these generally screw or snap into place.
Storm doors are another matter. They should be made by the local custom shop so that they can fit your door exactly. If there are any leaks around the edges of these doors at all, much of the energy saving value is lost. Although it’s less attractive, you can make up a less expensive type of storm window simply by stretching sheets of polyethylene across the windows as well.
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