From an environmental point of view I haven’t seen the exact numbers of how much extra energy brand new windows would save vs. plastic covers, if we were willing to spend the extra money.

I have to admit I was biased to take this advice because my house was built pre-1900 and at this point it’s a pretty special thing to still have original windows. Maybe I wouldn’t be so attached to old 1950’s windows.

I put tape on the flaps, bent them perpendicular to the panel, and taped it so it’s not directly touching the window. I think this is what Trent meant, it needs that space to create heat and vent it out. That would be a great invention if it had a little fan blowing it out, maybe even a small solar panel to power the fan.

I think it is easier to cover it with foil first and cover the whole side, taping the edges of the foil to the back side.

The foil got wrinkled in the process so I smoothed it out with a zippo. I noticed the paint didn’t cover the wrinkled surface as well took more paint to cover.

I used an old bottle of black nail pollish and it’l probably be $0.50 after haloween. It spread easier after I diluted it w/some pollish remover, stretched too. 1 bottle covered a lg. cereal box.

Even though it’s overcast, I feel some heat being generated. It’s a neat idea.

I guess rather than laughing because it is not as cold in “America” as it is in Canada we should commend the guy for trying to think of some great ideas to stretch his new homeowner dollar!!
Thanks for the ideas…..

Google it. For example, input -30C to F and hit enter. Google will return the answer at the top of the search result. Have fun :)

I like the idea of the getto solar heater. I am going to make one this morning. I hope it’s just the thing I need for my living room. Half of my apartment is too hot and the other is too cold! I have the worst landlord in recorded history who, among other things, refuses to put weather stripping around my door. I could actually see into my hallway thru the craks. I took newspaper, folded it into thin strips and taped them to the frame. It took some experimenting to find the exact thickness, but it worked (best part of all:the cost was next to nothing!) It works for windows too.

I’m not sure how much it costs, but there is this plastic wrap-like stuff that seals windows. You use a blow-dryer and it adheres itself tothe window annd is really strong. Wearing a hat can help too. While I’m waiting for the heat to kick on, I’ll wear my hat and wander around, doing my chores and I’ll get hot. Knitting/crocheting a blanket is a good way to keep warm too.

A few years go, I roomed with a Architectural Engineering student who had a big energy-conservation interest. I remember a talk we had where he shared two things he had learned that had surprised him:

1) Fireplaces, thought quite homely, are horribly inefficient for heating.

2) It can often cost more to re-heat an area that you allow to cool-down than it would cost to just maintain the heat you already have.

Of course, I don’t know the thermodynamics involved, how big the difference is, exceptional cases, etc. – I just know you might want to look into it further (e.g. ask a HVAC expert) before actually implementing that fancy thermostat plan.

Sounds fun! Have you done this? It might make an excellent photo blog.

Winter is also a great time to exercise indoors. Those calories you are burning are heating yourself and the house.

I’m allergic to dust mites and a way to keep them down is to make sure humidity doesn’t get too high. A way of reaching that goal is to warm up the room as warm air can contain more water (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relative_humidity#Other_important_facts).

I used to wear clothes in layers a lot during the winter time to save on heating and I hope that it isn’t what triggered my allergy.

The cold and snow sounds like fun to me, but I’m sure it can make things difficult too. Good luck with your winter!

Does that mean that the solar collector must be the same size as the window?

I was thinking of putting one in my glass patio doors, but I didn’t want to make it the entire length of the door.

Thanks in advance if you can clarify.