Insulating metal casement windows against the cold

[WVBrady]

My dad built our house after WWII with metal casement windows throughout. Although strong and secure, a lot of heat leaks out in the wintertime. Has anyone successfully insulated this kind of window?

My brother and I covered them with clear plastic last year, which reduced the annual bill by about 20%, but we need to do better. He said that he has read of people covering them with the type of bubblewrap used in greenhouses. This allows light in, but of course you can't see out.

TIA,
Brady

 

[IDASHO]

Best bet would be an exterior mounted "storm" window system.

We have them on all of the south facing glass (large windows) in our place. They make a HUGE difference.

 

[sneezer41]

60 years, you have got your money's worth out of those windows.

consider entire replacement casement windows, as many as you can afford at a time, starting with the ones you notice first. Consider replacing ones that don't need to open with fixed glass

 

[WVBrady]

Best bet would be an exterior mounted "storm" window system.

We have them on all of the south facing glass (large windows) in our place. They make a HUGE difference.

Thanks for the response. I would like to find out the details of them. Do you have any pictures of them? Did you make them or were they purchased? How do they attach? Do you replace them every season? Are they tempered glass or some sort of plastic?

Brady

 

[WVBrady]

60 years, you have got your money's worth out of those windows.

consider entire replacement casement windows, as many as you can afford at a time, starting with the ones you notice first. Consider replacing ones that don't need to open with fixed glass

Thanks for the response. Replacing them is really not an option at this time. No one is living there full time; just use it as a central point to meet for our spreadout family. My sister said that she would like them from a security standpoint.

 

[bczygan]

I cut a piece of the blue or pink 2" foam and wedged it into the window sill and window opening on the inside for the winter. Spare bedroom so don't need the view.

 

[IDASHO]

Thanks for the response. I would like to find out the details of them. Do you have any pictures of them? Did you make them or were they purchased? How do they attach? Do you replace them every season? Are they tempered glass or some sort of plastic?

Brady

Ill have to get some photos for you.

The store window system on our house involves redwood frames that attach permanently to the outside of the house. The storm windows are aluminum framed single pane tempered and glazed windows that fit into the wood frames, held in with clips.

They are designed to be taken down every spring, and put up every winter. but I have found that they keep the summer solar gain to a minimum. So I keep all but a couple on year round. The ones I remove are just for summer ventilation purposes.



Here are some photos...

it really is a super simple and effective design.

 

[WVBrady]

I cut a piece of the blue or pink 2" foam and wedged it into the window sill and window opening on the inside for the winter. Spare bedroom so don't need the view.

Thanks for the reply. My sister did that when she lived in Alaska, but put rigid styrofoam on the outside. She did that because she said that if she put it on the inside ice would form on the window and then melt and run down onto the sill. Do you ever have that problem? (In Fairbanks, where she lived, the wind usually did not blow strongly.)

 

[WVBrady]

Ill have to get some photos for you.

The store window system on our house involves redwood frames that attach permanently to the outside of the house. The storm windows are aluminum framed single pane tempered and glazed windows that fit into the wood frames, held in with clips.

They are designed to be taken down every spring, and put up every winter. but I have found that they keep the summer solar gain to a minimum. So I keep all but a couple on year round. The ones I remove are just for summer ventilation purposes.


it really is a super simple and effective design.

Thanks for the response. I take it that these are commercially purchased. Do you know if they are tempered glass? Approximate cost?