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If you’re building a new house, why not take the opportunity to install double- glazed windows—and storm windows as well, if you live in a cold climate. and there’s nothing to stop you from adding some exterior insulation while you’re at it—you’ll recoup your investment in both comfort and energy savings for appropriate use of all these amendments. Whether you’re building a new house or improving an existing one, the most cost-effective single unit of window insulation you can install will be inside. and if you’re remodeling, interior window insulation will also be more cost-effective than any other window amendment except outside shading. Interior window insulation comes in a broad range of materials, from an interior plastic storm window, or even a simple roll-down window shade, to multilayered shades and curtains. Any material or air buffer you can place between the window and the air in your house will cut your energy losses somewhat. The basic principles of interior window insulation are the same as those of exterior window insulation: Keep conditioned air in and unconditioned air out. Therefore, some of the forms of interior window insulation are similar or identical to some of the forms of exterior window insulation. But be cause the inside is not directly subject to wind, rain, snow, and other exigencies of nature, more fragile materials may be used. Often, these are not only superior to the tough exterior materials needed to brave the weather, but also nicer to look at. One of the attractions of storm windows is that they provide insulation with out blocking sunlight or your view. But at night when you are sleeping, you don’t much care about sunlight or views. Therefore, to insulate your windows from within, you might consider one of the many forms of window insulation that you can open or close with varying degrees of ease. For example, roll-up screens or window shades simply pull down or snap up with the flip of a finger. Louvered blinds can be opened at an angle to act as passive solar energy collectors (see our Solar Energy article). Drapes that extend the entire height of a window can be effective window insulators while also fulfilling a role as interior decoration. The best drapes for this purpose will be lined, and made of a heavy material. They should fall completely to the floor at the bottom, extend all the way around the sides of the window, meet at the top, preferably with a valence. The more airtight the drapes are, the more effective they will be. Next: |