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really depends what your windows are + their condition. In our house (turn of the previous century), they are mostly wood doublehungs with a few casements. All have storm windows. All were in terrible shape + many of the storms are the crappy '70's aluminum type. I restored all of them for less than the cost of 1 replacement window (but quite a few weekends spent puttying + painting). They work like brand new now and the doublehungs are quite tight (I did add weatherstripping). The casements are problematic by design, but the ones with wood storms are not drafty at all... I plan to eventually replace the 70's storms because they are junk. I would suspect the 3m film is worse. There are modern high quality aluminum storm windows that don't flex in the wind like the 70's style, still meet egress standards, and cost less than vinyl replacements, all while better suiting colonial homes...
Anyway, the R-value of even the best triple glazed window is pretty bad compared to a wall. A typical double glazed window is hardly any more efficient than a typical original doublehung with a wood storm (in good condition of course with weatherstripping) + is less sound isolating because the panes are closer together. The vinyl window industry is imho duping consumers to throw away windows that have lasted 100+ years and, with some inexpensive care, would last 100+ more, to replace with an inferior product (that lasts typically 15-20 years) at great expense... around here, there is a government subsidized program to encourage this! also, in many cases, poor attention to detail in the installation results in a less energy efficient or problematic window solution than the original...
What people really should be doing (instead of replacing old windows) if they want to save energy, is install insulating shutters for night time... but there are some logistical problems with that also (in part, not as marketable)...
of course one can do whatever suits one's interest, but it is sad to see beautiful windows full of craftsmanship (leaded panes, mortised, old growth wood, etc) tossed in a dumpster in favour of cheap home depot vinyl junk...
James...
posted by 216.59.247...
, Sat, 14 Jan 2012 12:58:07
, Sun, 15 Jan 2012 08:52:50, Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:49:27, Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:56:20, Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:54:10
, Sun, 15 Jan 2012 08:30:00, Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:01:45, Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:57:43, Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:07:22, Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:23:33
, Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:00:00, Sun, 15 Jan 2012 05:55:43
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