Hi:

I am trying to find a window energy film cover that would keep the heat in the house during the winter and the heat out of the house during the summer. Do you know a film that would serve that purpose?

If you use something like this, so you find it helpful? Thanks.

 

So far 126 people have read the thread & there is no answer. I don't have an answer either. What windows do you have know & how old are they?

 

I just did a search for "energy saving window film" and a fair bit came up. Several manufacturers specifically address the energy savings with their films.

I have a Gila brand film on the windows to my game room. If I remember correctly it is their Energy Saving Light. I did not choose it for energy savings though. I was more interested in blocking UV and cutting the light level to prevent fading. It does block a noticeable amount of the sun's heat though.

 

I can see a window film reducing the light coming thru and help keep the room cooler but I fail to see how any window film could "trap" the heat in the room to keep it warmer in the winter.

 

The first thing that came to my mind was 'drapes'

There may not be a single product that does what you want, might take a combination

 

I am not really sure how old the windows are because they came with the house. They are not the original though. They are double pane, but I think they are old enough that they do not have any arcon (?) gas in between the panes.

 

Argon was the element you were looking for.

 

Solar film can help energy costs. It does not insulate like curtains or multi pane glass but the metallic layer in the film can reflect infra red and that works in both directions, both in and out of the window. I can't say how much benefit you'd get and as with anything on the manufacturer's website I'd take it with a grain of salt but the films are pretty inexpensive so it's not like you'd be out too much money to give it a try.

 

I can see it working well with reflecting summer sun heat, but other then that, it probably won't add any measurable savings when it comes to keeping the winter heat in.

 

Double pane never really impressed me. The old fashioned storm windows did a better job, IMO. That's why people are scrambling to add something that shouldn't be needed, in the first place.

 

I think it's the install methods that really kill the upgrading to double pane.
My 1950's windows in the old house (alluminum outer, wood inner) where much, much better then the newer (less then 5yrs old) windows I have now.
That being said, the windows in the old house where installed when the house was being built, and not thrown in like the windows I have now.

 

I built my house on the cheap. The majority of the windows in my house are used single pane double hungs with storm windows. I don't get any drafts or notice a big temp difference at the windows but they were insulated and caulked during the install. Not saying they are as efficient as new insulated glass but I doubt I'd see a big savings by replacing them. As with most things - correct installation is important!

 

Modern saxy windows are not all they are cracked up to be. I have double pane, low E, argon filled, a magic mylar layer in there somewhere, lemony fresh scent and flavor crystals. Within the first year two sashes had to be replaced because the metallic coating on the glass was on the outside and oxidizing. A couple years later two more had to be replaced because the seals broke, the argon escaped and moisture was condensing on the inside. And, now I have two more that have leaked their gas and the metallic layer on the inside has oxidized. They are energy efficient but what a pain in the rear.

 

I agree with marksr.

I bought a very old "flipped" home in northern MI ans everything was actually done well, but apparently the cost of replacing the old windows was too much. the heating bills were quite low.

After living a short block from Lake Huron, it was chore to open the painted shut windows and repainting the old storms. After 4 years, I replaced with replacement argon filled double pane windows and had the trim wrapped to reduce maintenance. The bottom line was that my annual heat bills with the new windows for the 3 years was not lower and there was no apparent energy savings for heating. At least, it was easy to open up the windows that could never be opened, so I could enjoy the lake benefits in the non-heating months.

Regarding my experience with winter heat loss - In our present location (MN) the cold winter days are clear and the concern is air flow. At night the concern is radiant heat loss and my new high tech argon sliders are not appreciably better than my old fogged sliders. The big improvement at night is to eliminate is to just pull the 1" aluminum horizontal blinds and you get a huge increase in comfort by cutting off the radiant heat loss path (visual). I think the scientific term is "black body radiation" and an aluminum slat is better than gas. I was able to get a good comparison because I have 2 walls of concrete (thermal mass) that provide uniform interior temperature irregardless of the time of day of external daily or weekly temperature variations.

A window is just a hole in the wall and no matter what glass and gas you use, it is really not appreciably better than a uninsulated concrete block wall during the day, but a concrete is better at night on a square foot basis because of the lower radiant loss. At night, even a sheet hung over a window makes a big difference at night if you have a window of some type.

Dick

 

I am personally a much bigger fan of solar screens than tinting. You can get solar screens that block out 90% of the heat. They also can be removed in the winter if desired. But I would not remove them because they provide a degree of added insulation to the window in the winter to help hold in the heat.

One other thought on tinting, when applied it often voids the warranty of the windows.