Insulation of Cold/Heat in Room

6 years ago

I have a home office where I work from everyday, all day. In the summer it gets very hot. In the winter it gets very cold. It is miserable. I installed a "window" A/C unit in the wall and it does help when it gets hot, but it runs all the time. I am currently using a space heater to help with the cold, but that only covers the immediate area and the rest of the room stays cold (plus it is on ALL the time).

This room used to be an enclosed porch that was then totally enclosed, added onto the house with HVAC ducting and everything. I have been under the house, there is insulation under the flooring plus vapor barrier.

One entire wall is just picture windows. I know a lot of heat/cold comes from this so I put up thermal curtains, still doesn't help and I miss the view as well. I am about to rip the nasty old stained carpet up and put hardwood down which I know will make matters worse- at least for the cold problem. I do plan on putting down a layer of insulation/sound damper under the wood floor.

Is there ANYTHING else I can do to help make this room more comfortable. I can't afford to replace these huge windows (5, 59" x 49" (roughly). Is there anything else I could do with the windows to try and block the heat/cold?

The windows cover the entire back wall and wall to the right of the room.

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Comments (8)

User
6 years ago
Why don’t you use the home’s HVAC?
A R
Original Author
6 years ago
It is in use. The rest of the house warms/cools appropriately and when it reaches the set temperature it shuts off. The room that is the issue still does not cool/heat to the set temperature, it is normally at least 10-15 degrees hotter/colder.
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I posted this in another area or the forum. I'll post it again for those who may have missed it. Your windows are only part of a very complex system... your home. Every home is different and every climate doesn't care... it just does what it does. The neighbor next to you in the same model home might change windows and save 50%... and you might do the exact same and save nothing. It might not make sense.. until you apply science. Energy is heat and follows it's own laws. It's laws tell it to move to a lack thereof by any vehicle available. Air transfer is the easiest but many others are readily available in most homes. Conduction, convection and radiation are the primary taxicabs. If your neighbors home is properly insulated and airtight, the energy might have been primarily using the old windows as the vehicle to move in or out. If your home isn't, new windows will only tranfer the energy to the next cab... like your walls or roof. Think (ATM) = money. Air, Temperature and Moisture always move in relation to each other. If you address one and not the others, they will bring it along for the ride anyways. A typical 2,500 square foot home has over a half mile of cracks and crevices in it's shell. Insulation defects DOMINATE the thermal performance of any assembly. If the insulation in that shell has even 5% of gaps or openings, it reduces the entire shell's insulating value by up to 70%!!! The effect is even worse with higher initial R-values. The air takes the energy for a free cab ride and steps on the gas. Heat does not rise, it moves equally in every direction. Only heated air rises when it is not driven in another direction by predominant pressure or airflow. If your house is well insulated and very airtight, then your windows might be the primary source of heat loss/gain. Changing these windows with a well insulated and airsealed product might make a huge difference in your energy bills. This would be the hope of everyone going through this process but it may also have very serious side-effects. If your old windows were a considerable source of air-infiltration, the reduction of this airflow will induce a negative pressure inside the home and may cause your cumbustion appliances to backdraft Carbon monoxide (CO). I have personally tested and witnessed this occurance by simply turning on a clothes dryer or a few utility fans. That was all it took to change the airflow. If a shortage is measured, the necessary amount of "fresh" replacement air can then be supplied by controlled mechanical ventilation. When you change any part of a structure's thermal or pressure boundaries with windows, siding, roofing & venting, etc., you have changed the rules and allowances. It is for these reasons and many more that I strongly recommend having your house professionally tested before and after any shell remodeling. The analysis fees are usually deductable from the contract amount of the work performed. These testing procedures are supported and recommended by the EPA and the USDOE and information can be found through their sites. The primary objective is to save energy and improve comfort and air quality in the home. This can be achieved in almost every home in America... if you, Test... Before you invest.
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mike_home
6 years ago
You have a lot of glass in a small space. The wall between the main house and this room probably has insulation in the wall so the room is thermally isolated from the rest of the house. This creates a large heating and cooling load. The duct from the main house is not providing the needed heating and cooling.

My suggestion is to install a mini split to heat and cool the room. I am not sure if this fits in your budget but it is the most practical way to maintain a comfortable temperature and allow you to look out your picture window. You could set back the temperature during the times you are not working and close the doors to the main house.
A R
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks for the response!

That was one of the options that I had thought about, a split system. Over the summer we had the main AC replaced- had a guy come out take measurements, factor in the ceiling height and all that to properly size the AC. Made a huge difference in the rest of the house, and it did make a difference in my office, just not as much as I hoped it would. Because of the main HVAC replacement, don't have a budget to do a split system or window replacement at this time.

The widows are the main culprit I know and have been trying to figure out what to do. But I hadn't thought about how this use to be an external area and the wall would have been insulated between it and the main house. If there was any other place I could use, I would just move my office, but I don't have that option either.
tigerdunes
6 years ago
not enough cooling and heating BTUs entering the room...you need to understand your loss in heating and your gain in cooling...get a load calculation performed...assuming you have the capacity with existing system, ductwork should be larger both supply (s) and return....
mike_home
6 years ago
If the duct that feeds the room could be isolated, then it might be possible to create a separate zone for this room. This would allow the furnace and AC to operate based on the heating and cooling demand of the room and not just the main house.

For this option to work, you have to be both lucky on how the duct work is set up, and find someone who is good at zoning. The room would be a small zone which is not ideal but it is worth exploring. Was this option discussed when the AC was replaced?

In the mean time get a quote on a Mitsubishi or other manufacturer mini split. If you work at home perhaps the costs can be written off on your federal tax return.
dirtmechanic
6 years ago
Enerlogic VEP 35 is a commercial grade insulation window film with a 40% reduction in heat transfer (Ufactor). its roughly 4 buck a foot wholesale. The emissivity of heat off the surface is 7%. Currently your glass emissivity is around 93%. This means it absorbs 93 as well as lets go of 93. Its a 2 way street. The film will reflect heat inwardly in the winter, so much so that I can feel it. It has a clear 70 vlt version but that one is around 8-12 bucks a foot. It uses gold instead of silver. Tubelite sells the versions made by the europeans, through Solargard owned by St Gobain (euro version of ppg), where enerlogic is through Vista, owned by Eastman Chemical here in the states.
Vith
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
We all know the windows are the culprit. Got to do something about them. Windows that large are costly to replace with something that stops heat and cold. That is the best option of course, but also the most expensive. For winter, my recommendation is climateseal interior storm windows. I am not a paid spokesperson, but I have them in my house and they very much help in winter. I find myself recommending them because I would prefer they stay in business if I move I can get them in my next house. They are significantly less in terms of cost to the best performing windows you would need. For extra large windows you may want to have a partition in the middle so they are easier to remove and clean. Here are some pictures. These are not cold to the touch, and when I took the one off I could for sure feel the cold. They magnetically seal to the metal L channels you install. All you need is a tinsnips, small drill bit, pan head screws, and caulking to install the channels.

I do not know if these work well in summer for heat. I have the thermal series and take them off in the summer, but they do have a preservation and pro series. I am thinking the pro series combines preservation and thermal benefits.

Ballpark guesses for quotes would be around 3-4k for the storm windows vs 10k for new good windows plus 10k more for installation.

http://www.climateseal.com/

Some other options for summer would be heat control window film, awnings, and pulling the curtains closed.

Insulation of Cold/Heat in Room

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