The argument that one spacer system is inherently superior to another or all others is ripe with the possibility of misinformation, misunderstanding, and certainly a great deal of emotionalism. Each system has its proponents and its detractors. In the past, polysulfides, silicones, butyls, and other sealant or adhesive materials were used as the primary (and often only) seal for many aluminum spacer systems up to the advent of the original warm-edge spacer systems. Many of these same aluminum spacer systems have shown extensive seal failures when analyzed possibly as high as 6% - 10% seal failure rate at 10 years for some of these units. Virtually all newer spacer systems, including SuperSpacer, use a dual seal system which in the case of the SuperSpacer system includes, primarily, a hot-melt butyl sealant as the primary moisture or gas seal and an acrylic-adhesive as the primary structural seal. Unlike other systems, however, SuperSpacer is "reversed" in that it places the structural seal inside the IGU (between the lites) and the primary or moisture seal to the exterior of the structural seal. Does reversing the moisture / structural seals (compared with other systems) make SS an inferior product? No, not in the least actually SS outperforms every other system on the market, including TPS, in energy performance numbers given that Super Spacer is generally only about ½ to one degree better than TPS at the edge. The hot melt butyl primary seal used with the SuperSpacer system has a very specific application temperature range of 275º 325º. If the applied material is outside of this range, then the P1 chamber testing can be significantly reduced to as little as two to three weeks to seal failure. What happens in the field in this case? In addition, SuperSpacer allows the use of polysulfides, polyurethanes, and even silicone as the primary moisture seal. The problem is that none of those options is impervious to air and air/moisture intrusion into the airspace may be a possibility with the use of those materials. Edge Tech advertises that their system goes 80+ weeks in a P1 test. They advertise that the "metal" (stainless Steel) systems go 40+ weeks in the P1 chamber in the same marketing brochure Edge Tech also made the claim that none of the other systems tested lasted more 40 weeks. What they dont explain is that the "40+ weeks" of the metallic system was actually 80 weeks for a PIB / silicone dual seal spacer system. Some industry folks suggest that one week in a P1 chamber is equal to one year in the field while other folks suggest that one week in a P1 chamber equals one week in a P1 chamber - and nothing else should be inferred. However, after 80 weeks or so in the P1 chamber the bond between the glass and the seal begins to break down possibly as much from glass deterioration as from spacer material failure. Am I slamming SuperSpacer? Again, not at all. When manufactured to strict quality control standards and exactly as specified by the manufacturer, then SuperSpacer really is a very good, even superior, product. What Edge Tech does really well is market their product(s). They have what appears to be an excellent, even superior, product; but they also have a marketing program that totally kicks butt. They have opened areas of discussion that really didnt exist prior to their introduction of itthey have emphasized SSs inherent advantages while ignoring any potential disadvantages (which is what marketing folks do, of course). They have invented new ways to categorize window spacer systems in some ways they have introduced the idea of IGU spacers to the general public. Energy performance and durability are what these things are ultimately about. How do they compare? At the edge of the IG, SuperSpacer is the best performer with TPS (Thermoplastic Spacer) second by about a degree or so. Cardinal Glasss XL stainless steel system (there are a couple of different ones on the market, but Cardinal is the largest manufacturer) is about two degrees or so lower than TPS a bit better than Swiggle. Drop another degree or so to Intercept and about another 6º to 8º for aluminum. Ultimately, using a LowE coating will have a much greater effect on the overall unit temperature performance than does the choice of which one of the "warm edge" systems. Of course using a LowE coating with SuperSpacer and with Swiggle still keeps SS a couple of degrees warmer at the edge, but these are also ratings of the "raw" IGU so what happens when the unit is in a frame? Well, how about this for thought from a joint Canadian and European study on the performance of various edge systems: "Conclusion The thermal resistance of the spacer bar material influences the glass temperature at the edge-of-glass region of an IG unit. Based on the limited testing performed at IRC and computer modeling at EMPA Switzerland, the spacer bar with the highest thermal resistance shows the warmest glass temperature on the warm side and the coldest temperature on the cold side of the glass at a distance 5 to 60 mm from the edge of the IG unit. But the effect of the type of spacer bar on the overall thermal resistance (and tote heat loss) through windows depends heavily on the window design and material. Therefore, the full impact of thermal characteristics of the spacer bar material on the thermal resistance and the condensation resistance of a window should only be determined by testing complete window assemblies." Heck of a concept testing complete systems rather than independent component testing to determine how the system will perform. Durability some folks will suggest the idea that desiccant is used in most spacer systems in order to hide seal failure. While it is correct that the desiccant used in these systems could absorb moisture in an IGU so that for many years there would be no evidence of a seal failure, a catastrophic seal failure, like those seen in some older single-seal, organic-seal, IGUs would overwhelm the desiccant relatively quickly and could cause the window to fog as well but this is much less likely with todays dual seal systems be they non-metallic, metallic, or otherwise. But what if there is a seal failure? Well, the desiccant used in these systems (except TPS which includes only 4% desiccant in its structure) could very well prevent moisture from forming inside the IGU for many years even with a minor seal leak and to play devils advocate, so what? Well, if the window was argon filled (which is true of half of IGUs manufactured today), then the argon will escape possibly to be replaced with air. But, if only half of IGUs today have argon fill then what about a window with no argon that has a "leak" as noted what happens to the energy performance? Basically nothing. There is virtually no difference in the energy performance numbers of an IG unit sealed or unsealed. If the desiccant was sufficient to maintain the interior without condensation, then the LowE coating would be safe as well. As I said though, I am playing devils advocate and real world numbers as well as lab testing are very specific that seal failure numbers in newer systems are extremely low. Kommerling TPS claims that they have never had a failure. EdgeTech claims less than 1% over 20 years and Cardinal advertises less than a quarter of a percent using XL for 20 years. Swiggle is higher, Intercept is much higher. Depending on the source of the information, Intercept may be as high as 6% (or more) at 10 years failure rate. This is primarily a manufacturer rather than a product issue, but it has become a very serious problem for several major window companies. And speaking of argon, filling an IGU to 100% with argon will improve performance by 16%. 50% argon fill improves performance by 8%. 25% argon fill improves performance by 4%. Notice the trend?

Taking the other side of the discussion, I like storm windows, I think they can definitely be a good idea in the right situation. However, good ones aren't going to be cheap and cheap ones aren't going to be good. And while they will likely improve the performance of your existing windows, they may not be the inexpensive "fix" that you are looking for. In your situation you may be better off (as a winter-time) fix using one of the insulating window films. They would be vastly less expensive and would still provide improvement over your current situation. If you do want to try storm windows and per your questions: 1. Will storm windows help if my issue is a framing problem, or only if the original windows are the issue? ---- if there is a framing issue you need to do what you can to fix that before even thinking about a band-aid fix of any kind. If its the windows, then the storms will help. 2. What are some good brands of storm windows to look at? ---- Larson, ProVia, Mon_Ray are a few well-known storm window manufacturers. I would suggest further research to see how they rate in comparison with each other as well as other manufacturers. 3. How much (ballpark) should I expect to pay per storm window? ---- too many variables to give an estimate and this is outside my experience. 4. Is the installation something I can do myself (I'm assuming it is)? ---- If you are reasonably handy you should be able to do it yourself. If you aren't an experienced handyman-type then you might want to decide if it is worth it to hire someone who has the experience to install them for you. 5. I see there are both interior and exterior storms....which is better? ---- exterior 6. How much do storms actually help? ---- depends on the conditions, but if done right they can make a big difference. 7. What are the major disadvantages? ---- cleaning can be a pain. cheap or inappropriate (for the style of your home) storms can detract from the appearance of your home. My house has a combination of casements and slider windows. Contrary to most opinion's I happen to prefer the sliders to the casements for a number of reasons; but I also have storm windows covering all of the sliders and that makes a huge difference in the winter and that certainly biases my preference for the sliders. But I still don't like casements. Potential damage due to overheating or rot or other problems often stated due to storm windows is way overblown in my opinion. If you are worried about overheating in summer, leave them open a bit to allow for air circulation. A little knowledge combined with common sense will virtually eliminate those concerns. In your situation you are likely to have a problem with condensation and/or ice build up on the storms on cold days simply because of warm humid air in your home escaping thru the leaking windows. In your situation this is going to be unavoidable unless you stop the air leak by covering your windows with plastic - which kinda defeats the purpose of the storm windows in the first place.

@Brandy Wine I would give some thought to which direction your room will face. If it is facing in any West direction it may be too warm during the summer. your summers are long & your summer nights do not cool off as much as in the North. Also depends how large this porch will be. mine is 22x22 and I have 6 of the large Scenix windows plus 2 sets of french doors that fully open to 6 ft openings. My windows are not enough ventilation on their own, the french doors save the day! My porch faces East, so no afternoon sun. And even with that, our porch can be very warm, but with our giant ceiling fan & French doors open, it has enough ventilation. I also put in a Mitsubishi unit that heats & cools. That didn't cost a lot to put in & it gives us total climate control in the summer & winter if we need it. We totally live on our porch, its like the rest of the house doesn't exist! So think through what you want out of this space you are about to create & how important this space will be to you. Ours changed everything for us. Hope this helps!!

@overhear Before the last two summers' restoration work, many of the sashes were painted shut, and a lot of the aluminum storms didn't open more than 20 cm (8"), so we have a lot more air movement in the house now. Most of the summer, we're able to keep the house cool by closing everything up during the day, and then opening windows and putting window fans in the bedrooms at night. Considering that the house has no insulation in the walls, this is no small feat! I was initially concerned about whether enough breeze would get in because of the way the casements open, but it wasn't an issue last summer. As for maintenance - the house is covered in original, 140-year-old wood trim, including a lot of "gingerbread" that I've been stripping and restoring over the last two years. The old growth wood is in amazing condition, (other than a few areas with rot that I repaired with Rhino wood repair - an amazing product!) In general, new growth wood doesn't last nearly as long, but when primed and painted, new wood windows will last longer than vinyl replacement windows, which are rarely guaranteed for more than 10 years. Mine are made of accoya, which is a specially treated wood product that is supposed to last up to 50 years! I'm estimating that touch-ups to paint will be necessary every 5 years or so, but the trick is to keep up with touch-ups so that a major repainting isn't necessary. Putty should be replaced every 20 years (mine have gone too long!) but my storms have wood stops so they won't need to be redone. This website has a lot of good information about wood windows: https://www.oldhouseguy.com/windows/