Moving Beyond Reusable Shopping Bags: Improving Window Efficiency

Moving Beyond Reusable Shopping Bags: Improving Window Efficiency

Many of us want to live greener lives. We want to improve our efficiency, and take care of our earth. Unfortunately, some people only want to appear to lead green lives. These people might use organic cotton totes at the supermarket but do nothing else to improve their energy use. It's true that reusable shopping bags help tremendously, but there is so much more to be done. If you take the time to look around your home you will find countless areas that could be improved. One huge energy siphon in most homes comes from the windows. Windows provide the least insulated portion of the home and easily transmit heat. This means while your heater heats your home in the winter, your windows send much of this heat into the winter wonderland outside. Similarly, summer months send heat sizzling through your windows causing air conditioners to run like crazy. Not only does the heat from outside transmit through the windows, but infrared rays pass right through the glass heating up your walls, floor, or any other object in their path. Luckily, there are quick fixes that can help combat the relative inefficiency of glass. Shear curtains can really boost insulation value of your windows. Often fabric shear curtains and opaque curtains are used together to create additional layers. This provides air spaces that help prevent heat transmission to or from the home. As with reusable shopping bags, it often takes only a bit of cloth to combat a serious environmental concern. New houses are much more energy efficient that old houses. Much of this efficiency is due to the use of double pane glass, which is much more efficient than older single pane windows. Nonetheless, adding shear curtains can improve this efficiency even more. Most people live in older houses and many of these homes have less efficient windows. Luckily there are several ways to improve window efficiency. The simplest is to use inexpensive polyurethane film window treatments. This consists of a thin film placed over the window to increase the insulation value. This film is see-through and can be applied with heat from a blow dryer, or taped into place. It also eliminates drafts by creating a fully airtight seal. Another method is to attach storm windows to the window. Many older homes come with these. If your home doesn't have storm windows, then you might consider having some made. These windows attach on the outside of the home, creating an additional layer and air pocket. Remember, you can treat storm windows with poly film too. This will increase their effectiveness, especially if they're older. Of course, there is no better way to improve the efficiency of your old home than to replace old windows with new ones. This is the most costly alternative, but only initially. The increase in energy savings will generally pay off the initial investment in about five years. Window replacement is really the wisest decision because in the long run you will come out ahead financially. Organic cotton bags are a great start to living a greener life. Improving window efficiency is another wonderful step to take. But don't stop there! Our homes are full of more energy saving opportunities. Just keep your eyes open for more ways to live green.