I've got an older 800 square foot house and about half of the windows have broken out storm windows. So there is just one window. It seems that my heater is on alot in the winter, and my AC in the summer. I was wondering if someone could give me a rough estimation on how much I could save in energy bills each month if I had some new windows put in? Thanks.

 

If you have single glass pane windows with most of the storms out of commission, then new ones will help. But they are only part of the picture. How much insulation in the walls, ceiling, and basement/floors. How much gas or oil are you using right now (per year).

Windows in general take a longer time to re-pay you with savings than other simple insulating and air sealing projects. To test what you might expect, cover your existing windows with shrink plastic for the rest of this winter and see if it feels better. While ie is cold, inspect around all windows doors and floors for drafts and seal where you can. In the basement, if you have one, check where your house sets on the foundation for air leaks.

To give you a number, since that is what you asked for, if we assume that your windows are 25% of your heating bill and your new ones cut that in half, then you would save about 12.5% of your current heating costs. If you are spending $1,000 on heating costs per year, then your estimated savings would be $125 per year. REALLY ROUGH ESTIMATE.

good luck
Bud

 

What Bud said, but there are many variables. For a fairly well insulated house with single pane glass, I have seen from 10-25% savings. But the comfort level goes way up, since drafts from the windows are reduced considerably or eliminated. And outside noises are reduced.

 

insulate and seal, then replace windows. They'll take a long time to break even. If comfort is your goal, rather than saving money, replace them all today.

 

Hi-My windows were replaced before I bought my house. I had insulations blown in last winter. HONESTLY, the blown in isulation hasnt made that much of a difference. The BIG difference is that we have window coverings on all the windows that we NEVER used before. Well, this winter was REALLY cold. We used those grass blinds & they made a difference. Also, check your heating system. Turns out some of my ducts were closed or needed to be rerouted. Thats worth a shot too. Jina

 

we have double pane windows.
still, i decided to try to save even more heat.
i measured each window opening and then subtracted
1/8 inch in the width and height measurements and then
used furring 1x2 wood to make frames.
then i wrapped visquine/plastic around the fames,w/staples,
creating a dead air space in the middle.
i did this for all windows.
it cost me 77 dollars in supplies.
it works for me.
i know, you cant see outside.
the sun will still heat passively on southern windows.
with an avg low of 11 and high avg of 21 for jan 09
our gas bill was
location mi.
Gas Charges
Gas Customer Charge $9.50
Distribution Charge 15.1 MCF § 2.081900 $31.44
Gas Cost Recovery Charge 15.1 MCF § 8.165100 $123.29
Total Gas $164.23
SALES TAX $6.57
TOTAL CURRENT BILL $170.80

the bill was basically the same as 08 still we were a lot
warmer this year vs 08.