I like to look out my windows :gotme:
Do this shit right and they’re clear as day. Get it on flat then hit it with a hair dryer and they shrink up tighter than a 15 year old.
word.
however this is an apartment so i wouldn’t install new windows either 
edit: had it in my old house i rented and it made a pretty big difference.
that is because it is less efficient to try and reheat the whole thing than to try and maintain a warmer temperature… unless you leave the windows open or something.
Caulk them shut till spring. All the film does is stop the draft.
Also turning the stat down so far is a big part of the problem, the house get so cold that it takes longer to get it warm. Kinda like if you drove 30 then gunned it to 55, then slowed to 30, then gunned it to 55 repeat, on the thruway, think of those MPGS However if you turned it up too high, it would be an issue too, ie, constant Highway pulls 50 to 150 repeat. I would leave it at 60 is and perhaps bump it to 65 durning the time you are home. Also Baseboard heat recovery time is WAY longer than forced air.
X…
BTW if you are seeing $300 now, February bill should be double.
I always wondered if that film is mainly for drafty windows or if the extra layer of air makes a big enough difference to do it to windows that don’t draft at all.
does anybody else have a problem with people blatantly ripping off the gas and electric company.
I think it’s super fucking trashy, and a PERFECT small scale example of why the economics of the country are in the shape they’re in…
And before someone says it’s not STEALING, you’re circumventing the drafts and not meeting the rules of the promotion.
j/k lol…
Newman, you know how bad the windows are in my room from when Jay and Walker lived in there. It gets direct wind and the vintage 1950’s windows have about 100 gaps in them. I put plastic inside last year and it blew up like a balloon and eventually came off. Phil put it on the outside this year and it’s made a world of difference. No longer is my glass of water refreshingly cold in the morning. Not perfect, but a huge difference. Good thing he pays the utilities.
i was so confused for a minute there
Geeez thats keeping it real cold, i keep it at 59 during the day & at night, 68 when were home. My upper is 1,200 sq ft and has older windows with storms. My bill last month was 95 bucks.
Maybe your furnace is an antique or something else but I doubt window film is going to help you too much. I did buy a kit and did all my windows one year. It did stop the draft somewhat but I dont think it made any dramatic decrease in my heating bill. Also it made my blinds inaccessible because my blinds were inside the window frame. I could not look out the windows all winter if the blinds were closed, or I could not shut them if I left them open.
I was waiting for someone else to say it…
You are taking the temp TO low and then the heating system works twice as hard to get it all the way back up. Try keeping it at 60 instead then bring it up to temp for the rest of the day. Raising the temp 10* then 15* every day is going to cost you as you can see.
when you take a living space and make it that cold, you have to reheat more than just the air. It will act like a full refrigerator and all the items in the house that are 50* will suck heat in to get up to the 65* mark, so the heating system works even more.
People make this mistake with forced hot air all the time due to the instant gratification feature that it has.
Hey newman, help me with a math problem:
how much energy does it take to raise the temperature of 6400 cubic feet or air by 14*?
how much energy does it take to raise it 4-5*?
The window plastic idea is mainly helpful by stopping DRAFTS. It has a MARGINAL insulation benefit. And, if your windows are drafty it’s effectively a cold radiator.
Yes, it helps immensly with drafty windows (or window frames), but you need to turn get your Tstat right & try to stop the drafts as well.
Your apt will be much more comfy as far as having an even temperature through out - not just warm in front of the vents or away from the windows.
how does it just stop drafts… look at double pane windows… its an extra air barrier too.
If you do it right you can block off the aluminum frames (yes aluminum is a great heat/cold conductor)
Its stops drafts, adds an extra air barrier (Air is a great insulator), and it can insulate the frame
1700btu
70 when we’re home.
65 when we’re gone.
66 when we’re sleeping.
Natural gas, forced air, 2400 sq/ft. Last bill was 108, one before that was 135. No budget billing, gas hot water, gas stove, electric oven and clothes dryer.
I set it at 55 when we were out of town for a week and it took quite a while to get the house back up to a steady 70. Everything in the house (furniture, carpet etc) had chilled to 55 and was radiating cold.
I couldn’t tell you what my bills would be without the plastic, but I know they’d be considerably higher because the rooms cooled off much faster, which of course causes the heat to kick on that much more. It’s a real noticeable difference how much warmer the rooms stay with the plastic on, especially on my windows facing south and west since our prevailing winds are south-west.
sorry, i didn’t mean that is ONLY stops drafts.
the “pocket” of air does an an insulation layer. Albeit a horrible inefficient one.
our last bill was ~$112. 68 when were home & active, 65 all other times. We use alot of HWT but have a brand new high efficiecy HWT. The furnace is also brand new, rated 98% - but is technically a bit undersized for our house - not too mention the split level design kinda sucks for this purpose.
All windows are plasticed, save for the ones in the addition - which are brand new & no where near the thermostat anyhow.
My furnace is old, probably 20 years or more. Hot water heater looked pretty new when we moved in, but how how time flies, probably 8+ years on that too. That being said, I’m happy with my heating bills. Did all the little things with expanding foam, door barriers, window plastic, outlet insulators, hot water pipe wrap, making sure the insulation in the attic was in good shape etc etc.
I think the biggest thing was replacing the real shitty french doors in my dining room with a new energy star sliding glass door. The old door was so drafty that frost would form on the edges on the inside.
Maybe I should just stop working and have HEAP pay for my bills. 
its amazing how much sealing up your home will help.
inefficient per amount of air yes… but i put my hand on the plastic. and its warm to the touch. Its doing its job and I’m happy 
When we had that big snow storm, and it was 8 degrees it looked like the gates of hell in the breezeway… the ice was just forming all over the wall and the door on the inside like something seriously evil trying to get in