Winter is on the way and heating prices are on the way up.

Here are some tips on how you can reduce your heating costs this winter.

Everyone has seen or heard about the adhesive and clear plastic sheets that you can place over the frame of your windows to add a layer of insulation and reduce drafts from the outside.  They are effective, but the insulation effect is limited to the depth of the air pocket that is captured between the plastic and the window itself.  The other problem is that the double stick adhesive can be difficult to remove, particularly if left on too long, and allowed to dry.

An alternative to this, with less mess involved, is to build interior frames out of 2” x 2” furring strips, (which usually run a little over $1.00 per 8’ length).  Pre-drill pilot holes, and attach pieces using a butt joint (just attaching one piece horizontally onto another which is vertical to form a 90 degree angle).  The butt joint is not very strong, and can be loose, so you will need to use longer screws to hold the pieces together.  I would suggest 4” screws that use a square end #2 drill attachment to drill them in rather than using a flat edge or Phillips screw head.  They are light weight, and see through, so they don’t affect your ability to see through the window, and also can be easily pulled out or punched through in case of emergency if you need to get out of the window.  This is easily done over a weekend or two for the average home, and takes even less time for small apartments or condos.

Cut the pieces so they will fit inside the window frame, just slightly smaller than the actual opening, so it is easier to fit the frame inside the opening.  Most windows aren’t exactly square, so whatever measurements you take may have to take that into account when you form the frame.  Most of the wood furring strips are perfectly straight either, so you need to first make sure that you buy pieces that are as straight as possible, and when you put them together, make sure that any curves in the wood, curve OUT rather than bowing in.  This makes for a tighter seal.

You will then take the same clear plastic insulation sheets that you would normally use (or the more expensive, heavy duty clear vinyl sheets), to cover BOTH sides of the frame.  Then attach straps to the outside edge of the frames so that you can pull the frames back out!  If the frames are too small and there are gaps, you can fill that in with adhesive foam strip insulation around the edge.  (If the frames are too big, you will have to cut them down to make them fit, so make sure the frames fit BEFORE you put the plastic on both sides). Keeping the frame a little loose, before fitting, makes it easier to make adjustments if the frames or the openings aren’t perfectly square.  If there is a large difference in the temperature outside and the temperature inside, you will get condensation accumulating on the inside of the window.  With the insulating panels in place, the condensation will accumulate between the building's original windows, and the insulating windows, so you might need to check it regularly to see if too much moisture, and/or mold is accumulating, and then wipe it up and spray it down with a mild bleach solution.

The cost to make these frames only runs about $2 - $3 per average sized window.  If you have a larger picture window or patio door opening, it can run closer to $10 - $15 per window.

(That is for very basic frame, double faced tape and plastic sheeting).

If you want something a little cleaner and more finished looking, you can add adhesive vinyl weather stripping over the frame, but that will probably add another $10 to $15 for each window.

If you want something even more finished, you can use wood molding to cover the frame, but that can also add $20 - $50 or even more, depending on the cost of the wood you choose.

Given that the whole purpose of this exercise is to save money, and the frames are only used to provide additional insulation over the cold winter months (or over the very hot summer months), I opted for the basic frames, and store them in the garage or basement when they aren’t in use.

My wife didn’t like the idea at first because she was concerned about how it would look.  But when they were installed, the drafts were so dramatically cut down and even eliminated in some areas, and cut our heating costs so dramatically, that she got over it.

Another easy way to keep warm this winter, if you have a clothes dryer in the house, is to put in a screened opening in the duct work that exhausts the hot air, with a flap that can direct the hot air back into the house, rather than out of the house.  These can be found at most hardware stores or home improvement stores for around $20 and are easily installed.  If the ductwork that you currently have isn't long enough, you may need to purchase another flexible piece of ductwork to piece it all together.

The screened openings capture the lint and prevent it from blowing into the room, so you will have to clean that out regularly to prevent the accumulation of lint in the house.  But it usually increases the interior house temperature for a small to average sized home, by several degrees, thereby cutting down on your heating bills.

These two tips can save you hundreds of dollars this winter.  We’ve done it and our heating bills are substantially less than our neighbors in the same building, with the same building layout, who aren’t doing it.

If anyone out there decides to try these ideas out, please let us know how much money you save by doing it.  Or if you have other ideas that could save money send them in by going to our Contact Us page and sending us a note.