In a nutshell, if you don’t have the time to read the details below, Yes, plastic window film is worth it in my view. Adding a layer of plastic film made a huge difference to our internal thermal comfort, and saves energy, for just £8 (for proper draught exclusion film, don’t use kitchen cling film!) and half an hour of your time. Plus – no more condensation.
The single glazed window in our second bedroom never really bothered us much when it was a guest room as we were rarely in it, and in the evenings, the solid wood shutters we installed helped minimise hear loss in the winter.
However, now that we are stuck working from home, the room has become my architecture studio and it is not a pleasant experience to sit for 8 hours a day, every day, beside a cold draughty window.
I looked into heritage double glazing, as I didn’t want to loose the elegant Victorian character and slim mullions and frames, even at the back elevation. The Sash Window company does an accurate and beautiful reproduction of historic Victorian timber window, but with a double glazed pane. A number of people on our street have started to replace their front windows and they look amazing, but at approx £1200 – £1800 a window, (depending on size) they are cost prohibitive for us at the moment. Replacing with chunky framed, uPVC windows and loosing the Victorian character was also not an option!
So – what to do?
This article discusses how 25% of heat loss in a house is through draughts, and that methodically cutting down draughty is the most economical way to cut down your energy consumption and heating bill. In my old Georgian flat, we draught-proofed the windows with brush seals (check out Reddiseals), and it made a huge difference, not just to thermal comfort but also to the acoustics (they cut down on alot of street noise). But, long term we’d like to get replacement heritage windows, so didn’t want to pay for that expense and labour now.
So, we opted for plastic film. I know, I know, it sounds really cheap and nasty, (images of abandoned buildings and warehouses with bin bags taped to broken windows comes to mind!). However while it is cheap, (£8 for a pack which did two windows), it really isn’t as horrible as you would expect, for a good temporary solution, and they made a HUGE difference to interior thermal comfort levels. I figured I’d share this story with you as I’m sure there are loads of you out there shivering beside old windows working from home. It doesn’t need to be this way!!
But what about the view out I hear you say? Isn’t it blurry? The side by side image of the the full window shows the before on the left, and the after effect on the right. As you can see – the film is barely noticeable – no naff plastic bag effect! (Especially is behind curtains which would hide the edges). You trim excess edges with a blade after installation so it’s neat. The film is translucent so the view out isn’t as 100% crystal clear as glass, (there is a very slight ‘fog’) but it’s pretty minimal, especially if you compare it to a window fogged up with condensation.
The film is super easy to install – you don’t even need to be that skilled or precise. Here are my tips:
1. Make sure the window is 100% wiped clear of any condensation as you don’t want moisture trapped in between as it will then re-condense.
2. Wipe the frame clear of any dust so the double sided tape sticks
3. Apply the double sided tape to all four sides on a flat portion of the window frame (ie not on any beads or bevels or chamfered bits). Leave the backing on the top side of the tape in place.
4. Remove the backing to the tape on the top horizontal piece at the window head first
5. Stick the window film across the top, trimming the width to suit. Leave 3-5cm of excess to trim later.
6. Peel the backing off the tape on ONE side, and stick down the film, and then pull taught and stick to the other side, peeling off the tape then.
7. Lastly, remove the backing from the bottom horizontal tape band, and stick down the film at the bottom and trim. DO NOT WORRY if the film has bunched up, or is a bit wrinkly (see image). Miraculously, step 8 sorts everything out.
8. Using a hairdryer, blow hot air across the entire surface of the film. The film shrinks and goes taught. And you’re done!
The process took me about half an hour per window, and we did two.
Sure, this is plastic, which is a non renewable resource, but my understanding is that it can be recycled where you recycle any plastic carrier bags (typically at the grocery store), and there is definitely energy saved.
And yes, it’s a temporary solution for the winter months and it means you can no longer open your window. So keep that in mind! It’s best not to do this in a bathroom where you may want to ventilate the room after a hot shower to prevent mould growth.
I hope this was helpful! Stay warm everyone!