Interior Storm Windows: New Designs, Big Return on Investment

Storm windows have been around for years.  The windows of our past were ugly aluminum contraptions that hung on the outside of the existing windows and generally got stuck when trying to operate the movable sashes.  They were leaky, ugly and not as effective at stopping air intrusion as the newer designs today.

Many homes today do not allow for the installation of storm windows on the exterior of the home.  Architectural Review Boards, Home Owners Associations or simply the Aesthetic targets of many home owners do not allow for the installation of these devises on top of existing windows.  Entrepreneurs have fixed this problem with the development of “Interior Storm Windows”.  One such window is the Magnetite Brand Interior Storm Window.

Do they work?  You betcha!  A study by the Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) concluded several useful pieces of information to consider.  The tight fitting interior storm windows of today improve air sealing and create an extra layer of glass and air space that provides an insulation level that can reduce heating and cooling costs by as much as 25% when the home has single-pane windows.  That is a great deal of punch for a product that costs somewhere between 50 to 30 percent of a replacement window.  The DOE recently concluded that storm windows are a cost effective retrofit over single pane windows in our climate zone, and are recommended for use in Low income and utility rebate programs.

The PNNL found that the typical payback period for Interior Storm Windows installed over single-pane windows ranged from 4.7 to 12.9 years depending on the climate zone and local utility costs.  Wow, after 5 years you get savings for free forever!  The saving for typical double-pane wood or vinyl-framed widows had a simple payback of 11 to 14 years.  Not as good, but then you have to remember that many people who benefit from these devices do not have “Average Double-Pane Windows”, they have Leaky Double-pane Windows, and their payback would be faster.

And what about comfort?  Well the study demonstrated that on a day where the outside ambient temperature was 34 degrees, the inside temperature of a double-paned window increased by 6.7 degrees from 59.9 degrees without an interior storm window, to 66.6 degrees with one installed.  What sounds more comfortable to you, sitting next to a 59 degree window or one that was almost at target room temperature?

Interior Storm Windows offer an attractive and cost efficient way to increase the comfort of your home by making your windows less leaky and by providing a substantial increase in their insulating value.

And one more thing….they reduce sound transmission substantially, blocking traffic and other noise.  But that is a story for another BLOG.