A storm panel added to a single or double pane window can cut energy costs in winter by reducing heat loss by as much as 50%. They are also less expensive than low-E, argon filled windows. You can add them to the exterior or interior side of windows.

Exterior Panels

There are two types of exterior storm window panels: single and combination. Single storm panels are made of glass, rigid plastic, or plastic sheeting. You typically put them up in the fall and take them down in the spring. A combination panel consists of two window panes and a permanent screen over the window. In the summer, you can slide one of the panes up and the screen down for ventilation.

Exterior storm window panels need to be custom-made.

Interior Panels

Interior storm window panels consist of flexible (like polyethylene) or rigid plastic. Rigid plastic panels are typically mounted using Velcro, magnetic, or snap-in seals. You can easily install the flexible type in window frames using snap-in retainer seals or double-faced tape. Despite their ease of installation, interior panels are usually not as clear as their rigid counterparts. Flexible panels may also wrinkle or sag after installation.

Heat-shrink film, however, doesn’t wrinkle. This type of flexible film adheres tightly against the seal as it’s heated using a hair dryer.

Interior storm window panels should go up before the heating season and come down before the cooling season. They are more useful for windows with awnings or for those that crank-out, where it’s difficult to use an exterior storm window panel.

Unlike exterior storm window panels, interior panels don’t have to be custom-made to fit windows, though custom-made ones are available from some window suppliers. Therefore, interior panels usually cost less. You can purchase interior panel kits from building suppliers or hardware stores.

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Window Shutters

Window shutters—both interior and exterior—can help cut energy costs by reducing heat gain and loss in your home.

Interior shutters need a clear space to the side of the window when they’re opened. They also require hardware that is fastened to the window jams or trim. Properly designed exterior shutters may provide the best possible window insulation system. They offer several advantages:

• Weather protection
• Added security
• No use of interior space
• No thermal shock to windows if left closed.

Exterior shutters must be integrated into your home’s architecture. Their mounting, drainage, and hinging will require special consideration; it’s easier to address these design issues in new construction.

Most exterior shutter systems include a mechanical crank, rod, or motor to allow operation from indoors. This can help encourage daily use of the shutters, and may be required by local fire codes.

Roll-down metal exterior shutters are often used as protection against storms and/or vandalism. While metal shutters provide protection against these hazards, they don’t provide much of a barrier against air infiltration and heat.

Like window blinds, louvered shutters work best for summer shading. Movable or fixed louvers allow ventilation and natural daylight to enter a room while blocking some direct radiation. However, they won’t provide much insulation against heat loss in the winter.

Solid shutters will decrease both heat loss and summer heat gain. These insulating shutters consist of wood panels, a vapor barrier, and sometimes a decorative covering. If you fit them tightly against a window frame, they’ll provide an insulating air space between the shutter and the window.

You can combine shutters with other window treatments, such as draperies, for greater insulating ability.

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When properly installed, window shades can be one of the simplest and most effective window treatments to cut energy costs.

Shades should be mounted as close to the glass as possible with the sides of the shade held close to the wall to establish a sealed air space. You should lower shades on sunlit windows in the summer. Shades on the south side of a house should be raised in the winter during the day, then lowered during the night.

For greater efficiency, use dual shades—highly reflective (white) on one side and heat absorbing (dark) on the other side—that can be reversed with the seasons. The reflective side should always face the warmest side: outward during the cooling season and inward during the heating season. They need to be drawn all day to be effective.

Quilted roller shades, and some types of Roman shades, feature several layers of fiber batting and sealed edges. These shades act as both insulation and air barrier. They control air infiltration more effectively than other soft window treatments.

Pleated or Cellular Shades

Several manufacturers have designed two- or three-cell pleated or cellular shades with dead air spaces, which increase their insulating value. These shades, however, provide only slight control of air infiltration.

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Solar screen are a thicker and closer webbed than a bug screen. The size of the holes in the webbing determines the amount of solar heat rejection. You cut energy costs because outside screens can reject 80% to 90% of the solar heat. Interior screens can reject 50% to 80% of the solar heat.

Interior screens come in a verity of designs. They can be like a web blind or a roller blind. Roller screens can be motorized and can be controlled either by a wall switch or by remote control. The advantage of the screens over blinds, drapes or curtains, is that you can see through them. Both exterior and interior screens give you daytime privacy.

The screens come in a verity of colors. The best color for exterior screens is black. You can see better through black screens because they reflect less light when looking through them from inside the house.

Interior screens reflect more solar heat if they are a lighter color.

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Window awnings can cut energy costs by reducing  solar heat gain in the summer by up to 65% on south-facing windows and 77% on west-facing windows. You can use an awning to shade one window or have an awning custom-made to shade the entire side of your house.

In the past, most awnings were made of metal or canvas, which need to be re-covered every five to seven years. Today, awnings are made from synthetic fabrics—such as acrylic and polyvinyl laminates—that are water-repellent and treated to resist mildew and fading. Whatever the fabric, you should choose one that is opaque and tightly woven. A light-colored awning will reflect more sunlight.

Awnings require ventilation to keep hot air from becoming trapped around the window. Grommets (eyelets) or other openings along the tops and sides of an awning can provide ventilation. The awning may also open to the sides or top to vent hot air.

A small, horizontal awning will completely shade a south-facing window during the summer. An east- or west-facing window needs an awning that extends down to cover a large percentage of the window. Sideless awnings, called Venetian awnings, can be adjusted as the angle of the sun changes. Venetian awnings, however, are usually not effective at blocking direct sunlight on south-facing windows. Hood awnings with sides added to block out additional sun are more effective. Hip awnings project out and down to accommodate casement windows that open outwards.

You can roll up adjustable or retractable awnings in the winter to let the sun warm the house. New hardware, such as lateral arms, makes the rolling up process quite easy.

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Windows are the most inefficient when it comes to insulation in your home. A single glazed ( one pane of glass ) window has an R value of only 1. Dual glazed windows are R 2. Triple glazed and dual glazed Low-E windows are R 3.2. If you add Argon gas to your Low-E windows you will have an R 4 window. This is only if the windows are not drafty. The least expensive way to cut energy costs is to make sure that there are no places around the windows and the window sills where air can leak in or out. Caulk any areas that might be suspect. On opening windows make sure that the weather stripping is making a proper seal. If not, replace it. There are several ways that you can increase the insulation of your window glazing in your home. You can install insulating blinds or heavy curtains. This works well over night or if you are not home during the day. You can install a thin film around the outside edge of the window sill. Kits are available at most hardware stores.

You can install or have installed a storm windows either outside or inside the house. For inside the house, there is an acrylic window that can be installed using a magnetic seal. Make sure the weather stripping around the doors are sealing properly. I found a magnetic weather stripping that works well on metal doors. Magnetic weather stripping can be found at most hardware stores.

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If you own an older home, the walls are probably only 4 inches thick. That means that they have only R 12 insulation. There is a couple of ways to cut energy costs by reducing heat loss through your outside walls.

If you are intending to renovate the inside of your house, then you can take out the old panels or drywall off the walls and add 2 inch ridged foam panels to the walls before putting on new drywall.

The other way to insulate the walls is to add 2 inch ridged foam panels to the outside of the wall. You would have to replace the siding as well. Either way this would bring your walls up to R20.

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If you have an attached garage, it is important that you insulate the outside walls. Most walls that attach the garage to the house are usually not as well insulated as the outside walls. So keeping the garage as warm as possible by insulating the outside walls will help cut energy costs by stopping most of the heat loss through the attached walls.

The overhead garage door should be an insulated door. Make sure that the weather stripping on all the doors are in good shape. Replace if necessary.

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Cut energy costs by making sure your attic is properly insulated and vented. Because heat rises, the attic is the first place that you should check to make sure that it’s adequately insulated. There should be at least 12 inches ( preferably 15 inches ) of insulation in the attic.

Insulation is given an R value to indicate how good it is. For every 1 inch of insulation there is an R value of 3. Therefore 15 inches of insulation is R 45. That is the minimum you should have to keep the heat from escaping. The temperature in the attic should be about the same as the temperature outside.

A properly vented attic will decrease the possibility of condensation moisture to collect on the rafters or on the inside of the roof. One or more whirlybirds and a  few vents should do the trick. Blown insulation is widely used as attic insulation for several reasons. A professional home insulation contractor can quickly blow in one continuous blanket at the proper depth to achieve the recommended R45 insulation for attics. Many contractors offer pricing that includes the insulation itself and installation: usually less than the retail price homeowners would have to pay for the insulation alone. In addition, a properly installed continuous blanket of blown insulation does a better job at at stopping air leaks and subsequent heat loss.

Blanket or batt insulation meticulously installed will be better than a continuous blanket of blown insulation. However, any flaws or errors during installation will decrease the performance. If you have a trap door in the ceiling to get into the attic, make sure it also is properly insulated. Build a cardboard box 15 inches high around the inside edge of the door and fill it with insulation. Make sure there is a good seal where the door meets the ceiling.

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