What’s better use of $$$‘s for energy efficiency improvement
 

I have good attic insulation and pretty good air tight house due to improvements I’ve been making. My next venture is to provide better “insulation” against my windows. They say windows are 10–25% of a home’s exterior wall area, and account for 25–50% of the heating and cooling needs, depending on the climate (I’m in Sacramento). I currently have 20 yr. old plain ‘ol dual-pane windows, with simple venitian blinds and single cell shades. In winter you can really feel the cold coming thru them and in summer I get direct South sun and I bake.

So, what would give me a better “bang for my buck”, go with Plantation Shutters or replacing my window’s with high efficiency loE/argon windows. Plantation shutter’s which go for $17 sq. ft. installed, so for me that’ll be $8k.

Welcome to the site Eco dude.

I'd recommend interior storm windows like I am in the process of making. See below.

Daox, looks good, but I don't want anything I have to take up/down, and I want to be able to use the windows year round. I'm looking for more ALL year improvement. I know I'll get better r-value comfort in summer due to be being able to block sun.

Does anyone have any idea how much super-wazoo triple pane, loE/Argon windows sell for? I can't find anything on 'net yet so any idea of price per square foot to help compare against the shutters?

I was just checking out your weather out there

Sacramento, California (CA) profile:

and when I saw the average temperature plot,
http://pics2.city-data.com/w1q/lhaq2431.png
I just choked on my coffee!!

The first thing that came to mind, was long sleeve shirts.. ;)

I wonder if you could use some Sun Block material over your windows during the summer
Phifer 60 in. x 50 ft. Charcoal Super Solar Screen - 3001972 at The Home Depot
It comes in different widths and seems like it could be installed in (insect) screen frames.

One of our posters used this material and likes it. I recommended he move
the 'screens' inside to absorb heat (and heat the room) during the winter..


Insect Screens

http://www.screenmobile.com/images/p..._insect_01.jpg

"Super Solar Insect Screens, These dual purpose screens are the ultimate in insect screen technology because it looks like a screen but acts like a shade. It keeps insects and bugs out while being able to reduce your summer cooling bills by reducing the sunlight that comes into your home by up to 90%."

And, you can say cool stuff like, 'Duuude, my house is wearing Sunglasses'..

Had these screens on my previous house, they worked pretty good too. I like the idea of putting them on the inside for winter.

If mounted inside, is the mesh tight enough to cut down some of the draft off the cold glass?

I know that a simple cloth curtain on my windows is somewhat effective.
Way better than nothing.

My current windows have a few little slots (2 I think) at the bottom of the frames, which are just holes to the outside, so it’s not completely sealed. I guess they’re there for some reason, condenstation (which I don’t have), air pressure, or whatever reason I dunno??? I’m thinking of seal’n those with some clear silicon. Do you know why these are there ?

Its for water drainage.

I agree with Xringer, even a sheet of cloth of some sort helps a fair amount compared to nothing. I recently hung drapes over my patio door and can tell the difference in the room when I close them at night.

If you seal those, you might want to use some electricians putty. (It comes in a nice green)
So, you can block the air flow, but be able to remove it quickly if water accumulates.

Replacement sash kids tend to be cheaper then full windows and are much easier to install, take the window size you have to some home improvement stores and get a quote, we can speculate all you want on price but you need to get a price for what you need.
It sounds like for summer sun you need an over hang or awning and in the winter you need your house to be sealed better, get an energy audit done, $300 or so and you will find the areas to focus on, saving you well over $300 in renovations that did not need to happen.