Originally Posted by AnneZ at FluTrackers
Windows
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14668
Are you losing heat through your windows? - YES!
A lot of heat escapes through windows. Solutions include generously fitting lined or thermal curtains. ( in NZ Community Energy Action (CEA) provides households on low incomes with recycled curtains free of charge). Plastic window kits, also available from CEA, act as double-glazing and are relatively inexpensive and simple to install.
Plastic Window Kits
Plastic window kits are affordable alternatives to double glazing for doors and windows. They contain sheets of plastic film, which looks like cling-film, but is slightly thicker. The kit also comes with double-sided tape, and you use this to tape the wooden framing (around the window pane). You then cut out the plastic to fit the size of your window frame and fix it to the tape. Finally, you blow a hair dryer on the plastic, which shrinks it so that it is very tight.
The fitted plastic creates the air-tight gap that double-glazed windows have, which ensures that hot and cold air do not come into direct contact on your window pane. They cannot be used on most aluminium-framed windows and doors, as there is not enough of a gap between the window frame and the glass to work effectively.
Because they have been shrunk with a hair dryer to fit the window, they cannot be reused on other windows once fitted. The kits are meant to last one winter season, but there are accounts of households in Canterbury that have been using them for several seasons now.
Benefits
Plastic window insulation helps stop indoor heat escaping and largely prevents condensation from forming on the window (it won't form on the plastic either). For maximum benefit it is important to follow the instructions on the pack.
Heat loss and retention
A lot of heat gets lost through windows - 24% of the heat in an uninsulated house. Normal double-glazing prevents 50% of that heat being lost, and plastic window kits prevent 30% of that heat being lost. Using them in conjunction with thermally-lined curtains and pelmets is the best way to keep heat from escaping through your windows and doors.
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(susieM)
I tried that plastic window stuff, once. It is okay, but there are some problems with it...
The tape ruins the window edges, and to get it to look nice ever again, you have to sand them down and paint it all over again. I prefer the small holes that the staples make.
If a kid pokes their fingers through the stuff, it has to be done all over again. And that includes the tape, which won't stick so well the second time around...and has to be all removed brfore appling a second time.
Sometimes, the windows still get condensation between the plastic and the glass, which hasn't happened with the bubblewrap.
If you have a cracked pane, it must be replaced or taped before sticking the plastic on, or the condensation will not onl ruin the effect, but will build up mould on the inside of the window. With bubblewrap, a cracked or even broken or even non-existant pane doesn't bother it at all...it's still dry and warm in the house...although I've put double layers over cracked and broken and no-pane windows, just to be sure.
You must also have electricity and an electric hair-drier to install the plastic sheet and tape...after it's applied, you 'blow dry' it, and with the heat, the stuff shrinks.
Bubblewrap is much cheaper, easier to apply, easier to care for, and it works better. It's not all that opaque, either, with just one layer.