I did have a blower test 2 years ago and in my spare bedroom i have 3 aluminum windows from the 50s. I have plastic over them and when the blower was on, the plastic was 'humming' because of the airflow coming through. But i thought maybe it was just how i had the plastic and it was coming off a bit, that it made such a racket. Also the plastic had 'bowed out' towards the room.

the auditor said while windows may be a good idea, they can be expensive (i do know i paid 4-500 for one custom in my living room) and that insulation may be the better way to tackle the issue (room is coldest in the house)

so a few weeks ago i finally insulated my attic with green fiber and the area above the spare bedroom is up near R60 now. however, the area above my main bedroom is very difficult to reach so i didnt get to increase any of the insulation and it remains at about R27 or even less in some spots.

strange thing is, with both bedroom doors closed overnight, the main bedroom - with 'newer' windows and being more poorly insulated - is a comfy 65 or 66 while the spare went down to 58. Then another night i kept both open and the main was 66 but the spare was 63. I'm guessing keeping the door open helps a bit.

i have hot water baseboards and this spare room has about the highest linear ft of heat in the house but i do know that 1 out of the 3 baseboards has an issue where when the others read about 120 -125 degrees, the 3rd is 96.

so is there any way to tell if new windows will solve the problem or could it just be my baseboards having the issue? in my unprofessional opinion it has to be the windows because the uninsulated bedroom is much warmer with newer windows but i know if i use the guy i used last time, windows will be at least 1200 for that spare room. i was happy with his work so would like to stay with him.

i have bad mold issues and i'm slowing cleaning things up and i have an excellent dehumidifier i use. and i think if i just keep that room closed all winter that it may not be such a good idea for the RH reason. so i'd like to open the door but i worry once it's down into the teens that it may not be such a good idea presently

also i have an uninsulated crawlspace but since that's under the entire house, i dont think that can come into this equation at all since other rooms in insulated are very warm now. For example my kitchen had about an R3 (not a misprint) and even my cold gf said wow, the kitchen is so much warmer now with that R60 If she thinks it's warmer, thats a miracle and must be true lol

 

Aluminum windows in a cold climate were just a bad idea. I've seen some of them frost up in the winter like an old freezer that needs to be defrosted! One place they lose a lot of heat is through the frame. Aluminum windows are also usually single pane. When it is 0F outside, and 70F inside, tests show that a single pane of glass would be about 16F. No wonder they get ice on them! Now if you have storm windows, the storm window helps some. If you put plastic over the window, that helps some. Another problem is that those old windows either don't have any weatherstrip, or the weatherstrip no longer provides a good seal. So when the wind is blowing (as your blower test demonstrated) there is a lot of air infiltration around your windows. The 3M window kits are a good solution in this respect, because if you stop air movement through the window, you will obviously not lose as much heat through them.

The problem with closing doors in bedrooms is that if the room itself does not have it's own thermostat, there is no way for the heater to keep up with heat loss. Replacing the windows will surely help but as you have already figured out, it may take a long time to recoup the initial cost. You can buy a lot of 3M window insulator kits for what it costs to replace a window.

You could also replace the window, and if the installer doesn't do a good job, you could still have a drafty window. Sometimes a replacement window will be installed into an existing frame. the vinyl window itself might be sealed up completely, but if the old frame is drafty, and you have air coming around the trim, that wouldn't be good. Another possibility is air that is actually coming in through drafty walls, leaking in behind your baseboard, and around your window trim. Replacing a window might not help if that is the case.

So while replacing the windows would certainly help a lot, it may not be a magic wand for your cold room. Keeping the doors open will help moderate the temperature in the house. But it will also use more energy... akin to leaving the door on the refrigerator open. Close the door and the refrigerator gets colder. Open the door and it gets warmer- but uses more energy.

Regarding the mold issues, mold will often form on the coldest parts of walls and ceilings, and usually indicates a lot of cold air movement within the wall, or heat loss due to a lack of insulation.

 

Have you ever considered that the difference/problem may lie in the installation of the window (a.k.a. hole in the wall)?

You may have leakage/infiltration around the window and the window may not be much of a factor since no matter what kind of panel structure and gas filling the heat loss through the glass portion is. Radiation losses can be decreased dramatically with just a thin paper shade.

The window in the "cold" bedroom may just not be installed proper as about 65% of the windows also fall into that category. It may not be a problem with the window, but with the installation and air loss around it.

 

interesting replies. thanks. i never looked at a 3m window kit so i'll have to do that to see whats in it etc. The room has actually been 'storage' for a long time but i'm working diligently at cleaning it out and after i get the pool table cleaned off, i would like to use it someday again. I also forgot to mention throughout the house i removed all of the wood at the bottom of every window (there is no wood anywhere else around any window) and used the foam in the blue can after seeing totally open cavities under all the windows. this foam made a very noticable difference in airflow even under my brand new 13x5 window in my living room. Of course this is proof that new windows wont solve every issue! That blower test sure was an eye opener since i never would have known what was under my windows air - wise. imagine when that 13x5 ft window was aluminum how much air got thru that! candles would blow even if you never moved....best 2500 i ever spent lol.

but since i only have wood at the bottom of the bedroom windows there's really nothing else to do but i guess try caulking, which i admit i never did around those windows (thanks for the idea), and shop for that kit you mentioned. It's time for new plastic around the windows anyway, the old stuff is getting rather 'old'. plus while i was working in the room i swear i heard the plastic move because of the wind. or maybe it was just me cleaning too fast heck at this point i'd give up all the light in the windows just to have them wind proof but instally styrofoam would be a last ditch effort.

regarding the mold i'm actually fortunate in the spare room. it's not on my 'stuff' just on the one closet door and a small wooden cabinet. whereas in other rooms like the kitchen it was on some infrequently used pans etc. really gross. In one closet a coat had to be tossed because of the mold. Who knows, maybe the cold breeze in the room actually helped keep the room 'dry'.

i think ill hold off at least until it gets bitter cold and i've done the inexpensive steps you've mentioned to see how they help out. also the thermostat is far from the bedrooms so even with the cold air, i dont mind that part of the house being colder than the other side. matter of fact i joked after i insulated that the darn boiler didnt fire up so often and the bedrooms were colder than the living room

thanks again

 

silly question of the day..is there any way to 'tightly' put the blind rod thru the plastic (poke hole then insulate that hole somehow) so i can adjust the blind? I'm thinking of possibly putting the window kit on the 'inside' of the house (the wall), not in the window frame itself, so i get 100% tight coverage. if i lose some paint when i remove the tape thats fine. I'm assuming normally you just block up the against the window and leave the blind uncovered for usage but i know one time in a 13 ft large window when i tried to put the plastic between the vertical blind and the window so much air was coming thru that the blind was blown several inches out from the frame and i wasnt able to even open the blinds in the living room. I dont know if i'd have those issues with my 40x52s though.

 

2012 followup..just had new windows put in...before anything was done, and the room was closed, it was 57 in there...opened up room all day and after the windows were put in, shot up to 61...closed the door with new windows..back down to 57

i didnt buy the windows solely because of the cold but they definitely were drafty..still im a tad disappointed. my guess is the thru the wall AC is really letting the cold air in. next step is cover that up good. maybe a few blankets against it but thing is in my main bedroom i have a thru the wall AC with the same outside cover on and when i closed that door today it shot up to 67! rest of house was 64ish. the rooms are only separated by a bathroom and a hall. so i cant even blame the crawlspace since the same crawl is under both.

it just has to be the AC..i hope! otherwise maybe in spring i will just drill 100 holes and fill with cellulose.

 

an update a year later = fantastic .

 

interesting..kept door open 2 days in a row and now it's up to 63 in there too. like rest of house...of course it was 50 out today lol