Bubble Wrap Window Insulation

[redneck]

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Congratulations on making your house more comfortable and reducing your heating bill in the same process.

Bubble wrap against the glass would have had the effect of making the single pane act as double pane. Adding another layer to that would be even better.

For an 7000 deg-day climate (northern US), and single glazed windows, the bubble wrap increases the R value from about R1 to about R2. This cuts the heat loss from the window in half.

Heat losses with and without bubble wrap for 1 sqft of window are:

Heat loss w/o wrap = (7000 deg-day)(1 ft^2) (24 hr/day) / (1 ft^2-F/BTU) = 168K BTU per season

Heat loss with wrap = (7000 deg-day)(1 ft^2) (24 hr/day) / (2 ft^2-F/BTU) = 88K BTU per season

Bubble wrap however, does not stop air infiltration. Your sealing the door with a sheet of plastic attached to the frame is a good solution if this is a problem.

Ideally, you should have both.

Comforters and heavy curtains are another great way of insulating.However, they should be used at night or on cloudy days, otherwise you miss out on the radiant heat the sun gives for free during the day. Also, there is no need to pay for lighting during the day if it is needed.

I used a comforter in the beginning but it was a pain in the butt to put up and take down. If I did it again, I would attach neodymium magnets to the comforter and a strip of metal to the frame. Maybe then it would be easier to put up and take down.

I have even thought about making a shade or curtain of sorts from one or more layers of bubble wrap or even better yet...

Double Reflective foil radiant barrier bubble wrap.

Try and say that three times fast...







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