
- #Acrylic interior storm windows r value install
- #Acrylic interior storm windows r value plus
- #Acrylic interior storm windows r value windows
#Acrylic interior storm windows r value windows
They must also meet a slightly higher standard than the one for storm windows (the equivalent of R 3). The company’s product, which is made of acrylic and seals magnetically, is undergoing thermal testing in order to qualify for the new energy credits.įor makers of replacement windows, the new standard also means they must go beyond double glazing with an air space between the two panes-the old gold standard of window efficiency that usually qualified a window for an Energy Star rating. Installing any kind of interior storm window will likely reduce your heating and cooling bills by 30 to 60 percent, depending on whether the existing window is single or double glazed, says Matthew Petit, master distributor for Climate Seal.

(Lo E coatings, which turn glass into a heat mirror, weigh in at about R.
#Acrylic interior storm windows r value plus
If you’ve already got an existing single pane window, you can meet the required R value (2.84), by adding an interior storm sash plus a Lo E coating. Every layer of glazing, whether it’s glass or acrylic, is equal to about R 1, an indicator of the thermal value of the window. That’s because the new standards essentially boil down to the number of layers between the inside of a window and the exterior, Degling says. It may come as a bit of a surprise that a tried-and-true preservation technology like interior storm windows are already eligible for energy tax credits, given the building market’s emphasis on replacement windows. Installing interior storm windows, like this one by Climate Seal, will likely reduce your heating and cooling bills by 30 to 60 percent. And you get to keep that original window. “Our windows at $250 are as effective as a $700 or $800 replacement window. An interior storm window “gives you the same performance as a high-end replacement window,” says David Degling, owner of Innerglass Systems, and a Council member.
#Acrylic interior storm windows r value install
No doubt you are interested in ways to cut your energy bills, though, and that means tightening up around openings.Īs any member of the newly formed Interior Fenestration Council will tell you, it’s much cheaper, easier, and more energy efficient to install interior storm windows than to replace original sash. If your house still has its original windows and doors, you probably aren’t going to replace them just to earn a tax credit. I suspect hard data on the effectiveness of plastic film layers would be difficult to source (though I could be wrong, I don't feel like looking for it right now based on that suspicion) but you'd probably see far more difference from REPLACING the old single pane window with a modern, low-E double-pane unit than from covering it with 2 additional layers of plastic film - but the cost would also be higher.These triple-glazed French doors from Jeld-Wen could qualify for federal energy tax credits.


The additional layers do provide improved insulation value over a single pane, though even a triple-pane system is still a poorly insulated area compared to the rest of the wall (if the rest of the wall is properly insulated, anyway.) Neither glass nor plastic lets all light through, and multiple panes/layers have a multiplicative impact on the light transmission - if a single pane lets through 90 % of the light, two let through only 81% and 3 let through only 73%. Yes, plastic window film kits are often installed with considerably larger spacing, but they are also commonly installed on less than ideal windows where they stop actual drafts.Īny multi-pane system comes with a very basic tradeoff - more panes, less light. First, 1 inch is more than is generally considered ideal - 1/2" or so is preferred as it's less prone to internal convection currents.
