Save Money with Your Windows in Cold Weather
February 11, 2010 by The Frugal Home
Filed under Frugal Home, Frugal Living
By now we’ve all had several heating bills for this winter and, most of us, are cringing at the bill. The windows are one of the biggest areas in which we lose heat from our homes, so if you can reduce the amount of money escaping out your windows, you can save money on your electric bill.
Sunshine
How many times have you opened a curtain in the winter and found your pet curled up directly in the sun beams? Your pets are using the sun to get warm and you can use it to warm your home as well. During the day save money with your windows, let the sun into your rooms by opening your curtains or blinds and closing them once the sun has passed that window.
Keep the curtains shut
Keeping the curtains shut keeps the heat inside your home and blocks it from escaping out your windows. To save money with your windows, you should use dark shades or curtains in the winter, and use thermal curtains wherever you can.
Add weather stripping
Weather stripping is a very cheap way to help insulate your windows. Do all of the windows in your house, including places like the basement, garage door windows, and in the attic.
Replace your windows
While it may not seem like saving money on your windows when you first decide to replace them, it can save you a great deal in the long run. Some windows are just too old or energy inefficient to try to fix and replacing them would have the biggest impact.
Storm windows
Storm windows are a great addition if you cannot afford to replace all the windows in your home. Storm windows are made for indoors or out but if you only want them up in the winter then you should opt for the indoor version. If you are really on a budget then opt for plastic storm windows and attach with weather stripping.
All of these steps add up to help winterize and save money on your windows and conserve heat, thus saving you money this winter and making you more comfortable.
ccording to my opinion windows are one of the biggest areas in which we lose heat from our homes, so if you can reduce the amount of money escaping out your windows, you can save money on your electric bill.
We replaced all the windows in our house with double glazing. It made all the difference
This is an investment we want to make with our home…but it will have to wait for a while. But we are definitely following some of these other tips without replacing our windows and it does make a difference!
Doing some air monitoring around your windows with a candle flame will show just how many leaks you have. Double or triple glazed is the way to go if you replace.
I love your blog and how write you
Replacing the windows in your home is one of the best ways to conserve electricity, lowering your utility bill. I recently replaced our windows with low e argon filled panes and the difference was huge. Our electric bill dropped by 20% over last year, and this years weather was much colder. Definitely worht the investment.
I live in an older home and my windows lose a lot of heat in Winter and it gets blazing hot inside in the Summer. I was thinking of going to the home improvement store and getting some of those insulated boards that builders use on the outside of new construction. It’s just a high grade of foam board. I thought if I could cut it the size of the inside of my windows, cover it with fabric, so I can just slide them in and out as needed, it would block the heat loss in the Winter, and keep the house cool in Summer.