Home Improvement Fall
Storm windows help prevent air infiltration in homes with single-pane windows
BY MASAKI OVA
The Jamestown Sun
JAMESTOWN —
Storm windows will help prevent any air infiltration in homes with older, single-pane glass windows, according to Clyde Schmautz, manager of Infinity Building Services.
“If you got wind coming around your sashes, that certainly would stop it,” Schmautz said. “It would stop any moisture also coming in and it should help
with any moisture on the glass on the interior glass.”
During the winter, the storm windows help keep the inside glass a lot warmer inside the home, he said.
Storm windows help reduce air movement into and out of existing windows, which reduce heating and cooling costs, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
According to department, the
benefits of low-emissivity storm windows include:
► Similar energy savings as full window replacement, but at about one-third the cost
► Aesthetically pleasing
John M. Steiner / The Jamestown Sun Installing a storm door can help keep out rain, snow and wind from entering your home.
WINDOWS
From Page 3
► Operable
► Reduces drafts and increases comfort
► Reduces noise
► Reflect radiant heat 35% better than clear glass storm windows
► Act as an air sealing measure and can reduce overall home air leakage by 10% or more
In the past, storm windows were installed in all of the single-pane windows. But now, storm windows are incorporated into one window where they don’t have to be changed any more.
“They are made for summer and winter
all the time,” he said. “They are metal so you don’t have to worry about painting.”
Schmautz said storm windows are only available for the older windows with single-pane glass. He said the newer vinyl windows are not receptive to install storm windows.
“Storm windows were typically important in the past but nowadays because of the heat buildup you can’t even put them on vinyl windows which most of the windows are nowadays,” he said
He said the heat buildup between two pieces of glass can cause distortion of the vinyl or other materials that the
window is made of.
“So the only storm windows that you can get nowadays would be made for the older-style wood windows,” he said. “In fact, some of the entrance doors you get nowadays too, if you put a storm door on top of that, the white intrusions that are made to hold the glass on your metal door or
fiberglass door, that also doesn’t like the heat buildup.”
Schmautz said many cheaper, inexpensive glass inserts in newer steel doors don’t require a storm door.
“Some of the inserts … the plastic that holds the glass in the door, some of those inserts will crack and distort
IMPROVEMENT: Page 6
John M. Steiner / The Jamestown Sun
A variety of products are available to help prevent air infiltration through windows.
IMPROVEMENT
From Page 5
from all the heat,” he said.
Schmautz said storm doors help seal the exterior doors which prevents any air infiltration or snow.
“(Storm doors or windows) are just made to block or slow down most of that impact,” he said. Other tasks that homeowners can do include checking window sashes and weather stripping
THESE NEW HONDA SNOWBLOWERS NEED A HOME!
on the bottom of the doors to prevent any air infiltration.
Schmautz said using caulk to seal gaps and cracks around the window frame and installing new weather stripping on doors are inexpensive ways to save money on home and cooling bills.
mova@jamestownsun.com | (701) 952-8454
John M. Steiner / The Jamestown Sun
Now is the time to seal up the gaps and cracks on your house that allows in unwanted moisture and cold air.
Fall is a good time to get furnaces checked
BY KATHY STEINER
The Jamestown Sun
JAMESTOWN — Fall and spring are good times to get your furnace checked for the coming winter or summer, says Neil Guthmiller, owner of Jamestown Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning. That includes furnaces that have been replaced in recent years, he said.
“They still should have an annual maintenance,” Guthmiller said. “You got flame rods and things like that. Basically, when the furnace ignites, the flame hits a rod and that keeps it running and they usually get a coat of gas on them.”
He said the flame
rod should be cleaned to ensure it will continue working correctly.
Heating equipment has a life expectancy of 15 years, Guthmiller said. Parts become harder to get once they’ve reached that age.
When replacing a furnace, it’s about the size of the house and sizing the equipment to the square footage of the house, he said. New furnaces require less power to run them, he said.
Basic tips related to furnaces
► People should have carbon monoxide detectors in their homes, Guthmiller said. One carbon monoxide detector
should be located in the mechanical room where the heating equipment is located to alert you if there is a problem.
► “If your registers are burning … if you see black soot or anything on the walls or anything like that, that usually generally means that you have a cracked heat exchanger and things like that,” Guthmiller said.
► Make sure registers are open. If half of them are closed off, the furnace can short cycle, he said. “You can close off some of them but some people close off lots of them. Well, your furnace is designed to have
most of the registers open,” he said. “If they close a couple of them, that’s fine but if you’re starting to close half of them, it’s going to affect the way your furnace runs.”
► Furnace filters should be checked monthly, and changed every two
to three months, he said.
► Keep an eye on outside vents, Guthmiller recommends. If snow builds up on a high-efficiency furnace, it can plug the (air) intakes up, he said. “So you should keep an eye on your outside exhaust during the
winter and make sure it’s clear, not plugged up and covered with snow.”
► Make sure your blower wheel doesn’t have buildup on it and stuff so it runs and pushes the amount of air it should.
ksteiner@jamestownsun.com | (701) 952-8449
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