Waterfalls: Odd window insulation that's working!

Currently a nasty polar vortex going on. In the course of trying to improve this rental another step to control the temperatures in here, I stumbled on an odd thing that works better than I expected.
I'm calling it Waterfalls.

The basic idea is that these badly installed windows leak air, not just let cold through the glass, but actively leak air. That air cascades down the wall and hits the floor, like a waterfall. So I got creative with 1/2 inch thick styrofoam (which is what I had, I'm a dumpster diver) although a couple layers of cardboard would probably work too. All I did was cut a piece that ran from frame side to frame side of the window, about 6-8 inches tall, and tape it on the frame, wedged in tight if I could, sitting on the window ledge. I assumed it would slow down the flow of air a bit.

It's doing better than that. It's NOT magic, and it doesn't fix the windows, but it's a VERY noticeable immediate effect. I wish I had a thermal camera to have better data, but it definitely stops the puddle of cold on the floor near the window.

I have other systems that I'm adding these to, won't be on all the time, but can be quick taped up as needed. Lets in light, but not as much draft.

A couple of random windows that have them on:

Mom's room, has a blanket that drops over the window also

Hall bathroom,also has plastic over it and a rug that covers the upper half

And putting one on the most problematic window here, double windows in the front, only full sun we get in the house, we hate to have them covered up. I have layers of stuff that go over that mess, they leak like sieves. (If you care, the layers are plastic shower curtains that are held to the wall with magnets, light summer curtains, and a good big blanket reaching the floor that draws across at night or heavy cold.) (That system works against the summer heat also.)

Before:

front windows before getting waterfalled

Used styrofoam with markings from other tasks, taped to cardboard to make it long enough:

Cardboard to make the pieces I had long enough to reach both sides

In place:

In place, doesn't block much of the view

When the clear plastic I have had on it is on (it has bars that hold it to the wall with magnets) it's comfortable in that room with the snow and about 19 degrees, wind chill taking it down to 4:

With the plastic that has been on it shut, has made the room tolerable on a cold nasty day

It's easy, it's cheap, and it is worth trying! We are stunned at how much difference it has made. We didn't realize how much air was pouring down that our other systems were missing.  

That's really interesting Pearl, so the strips act as an air dam stopping the cold air flow (waterfall) down off the window. I wonder whether that is why radiators traditionally seem to be located under windows in the UK? It seems counterintutive to locate heaters on outside walls, but the hot air rising, would counteract the cold air falling so reduce draughts overall perhaps.

As far as I can tell, having radiators or heat vents right under the windows are to attempt to eliminate the cold spot, yes. I think what needs to be under windows is air return vents that take the cold air and run it back through the heating system. Seems to me that heating under the window is fighting a losing battle. I'd rather remove the offending cold air than attempt to overwhelm it with more heat. I'm also a big fan of insulated coverings, shutters or something similar being best. I think windows in modern houses are still being dealt with archaically.

Personally, I'm liking the idea of waterfall dams like this being made as part of the window ledge, on hinges to fold away in summer, and an outflow hooked to the air return system.

Oh interesting data point!
Last night's low temp was 6 F, with a windchill of -8.
This morning mom was with me when the outside air was up to 11 degrees, and I opened the blanket and summer curtain layers of the front windows that I pictured in my first post. I left the clear plastic layer on.

Normally, when I do this, the draft is instant, even with the plastic layer being magneted to the wall to keep more draft out. Today we couldn't feel a difference at all. Only factor changed was the addition of the Waterfall draft blocker. It's 11 F, with a windchill of -3 and we have the drapes open!!

That's a pretty impressive data point for such an easy to do modification!

I remember reading about doing that in a greenhouse/high tunnel to protect the outer plants from that draft but never thought about doing that to windows.

I know that Pearl Sutton knows this, but for others experimenting with this concept, keep a good eye out for condensation. You may need a rag to soak up water that gets changed out as the temperature goes from above to below freezing. Water dripping down into the wall below the window is a bad idea - Hubby made that mistake before we met and has never forgotten it. That said, he also wasn't watching the system closely enough. I think it just never occurred to him that this would be a problem.

Here's what I do ever year when the temperatures dip into the 40s.

I seal my windows with clear plastic sheeting that is sold in big box stores as window insulation. It immediately stops the draft. I have a large bay window in the front room that is like a sieve. Cover it and no draft. I do this to my front door that faces west, no draft. My dinning room and kitchen window are another source of cold, so they also get covered. Is this better than properly insulated windows, no. My house is about 50 years old and whatever insulation was around the windows is long-gone.

Some might thing that this can be an expensive solution - buying the plastic sheeting and double sided adhesive tape. Yes it would be, however, both the plastic sheeting and tape can be reused for years.

Here's how I do it: when removing the sheeting, take one corner (either top or bottom) and tug at it the way we used to remove bandages, tug at it a little at a time and it will not rip. If it does rip, not to worry because the tears can be mended using the 1-1/2 to 2" wide clear packaging tape.

The double sided adhesive tape is not cheap - I leave it on the window frames and around the door for the next year. It will dry - all you need to do is warm it with a hair dryer. It will be just as sticky as it was when first used. The tape will be reusable for 3 to 4 years at the most.

Hope this helps someone.

Pearl Sutton wrote:  . . .  "trying to improve this rental another step to control the temperatures in here," . . . "these badly installed windows leak air, not just let cold through the glass, but actively leak air. That air cascades down the wall and hits the floor, like a waterfall". . .  

 

For a few years I put bubble wrap on our windows every winter, but now I leave it up all year, because it also insulates against summer heat.  The effect is immediate and significant.  I used the stupid bubble-wrap packaging I had been saving.  I even bought extra wide widths of this inexpensive stuff  (very rare for me to buy throw-away plastic crap!).  I especially appreciate the sun it allows through on the south wall, and don't think it looks bad, but I keep the view in some windows by selecting where to leave bare strips on some window sections; targeting favorite plantings, the sky and blocking a neighbor's view.  I like the smaller bubble sizes, because it looks more uniform.  'Build It Solar' describes the method;  https://builditsolar.com/Projects/Conservation/bubblewrap.htm

Windows are also radiator panels,  radiating heat or cold so fast, air can rise or fall across them very fast, in addition to, or even without air leaks.  Sometimes curtains can make the air fall or rise even faster, because if they do not have a closed valence on top, or are not resting on the floor or sill, curtains form thermal air channels with pressure increasing the flow.  A barrier across the bottom creates a literal damn in the air flow.  Also remember to check for actual openings letting air through, and seal them with cloth or string or something.    

Update on the waterfalls...
I'll be removing them soon. They made an INCREDIBLE difference in the heat in the house! The furnace kicked on MUCH LESS often!

Things I learned after a winter with them plus experimenting:

**Best heights look like about 4-6 inches on a decent window, 8-10 on badly leaking windows.

**I used styrofoam because it's lightweight and I have it around. Anything you can make stand up like that will work, the barrier is the important part, not the insulation.

**Making them look prettier would be a very good thing, these have looked bad all winter. Covering them in fabric or paper or paint would improve the view, as they DO obstruct the view through the window.

**The tape worked, but had issues. If I was in a house I owned, I'd put permanent clips of some sort to hold up a waterfall type barrier on each window. That would also help with nice spring and fall days that you want the window open for a while, but it will drop cold that night. Styrofoam is aerodynamic, and will blow all the way across the room as it rips free of it's tape in front of an open window. Would help to be able to put it up and down easier. The cat REALLY disapproves of flying styrofoam.

The main thing I learned though is
TOTAL WIN!
This works WONDERFULLY!
I HIGHLY recommend trying it!

Oh Pearl! I forgot to tell you that I tried your waterfall and oh my, what a difference!

I was visiting a place where the bed was right under the window and my daughter had a mattress on the floor. The first evening I made a wall from pillows on the floor to stop the cold flowing straight to where my daughter was sleeping, and in the morning I asked if there was some cardboard and tape around so I could create Pearl's waterfall.

It was just amazing how much of an effect it had. The room was not nearly as cold at it was the night before, thanks to a strip of cardboard. Brilliant! Thank you Pearl!

Saana Jalimauchi wrote:Oh Pearl! I forgot to tell you that I tried your waterfall and oh my, what a difference!
It was just amazing how much of an effect it had. The room was not nearly as cold at it was the night before, thanks to a strip of cardboard. Brilliant! Thank you Pearl!

AWESOME!!
So glad you tried it and it worked!
I was surprised by how much it helps, I didn't expect it to work as wonderfully as it does.

Nice idea!

Our house's windows are also very drafty and it really makes the house chilly in the cold winter months. This past year I came across a bag of raw cotton that I had for a craft project. Using a toothpick I stuffed each and every draft. I was diligent. It didn't take much.  It worked. It worked 100%. Absolutely perfect. Like new. We actually turned down the heat. The house is super toasty.

Who needs new windows when you have cotton or cardboard?
Not us, that's who!

Hi Jennifer,

Welcome to Permies.

UPDATE!
After the waterfalls working SO SO SO WELL last winter, I reworked the one on big front window, that we see all the time, that leaks air badly. Renovation pictures and explanation, then a link to a new thread I'm making that shows how all my layers and systems for that window work, and what the design is for our home we are building, which is that same system working much better than I can get it in this rental, and the waterfalls have now been added to that design too.

Upgrading the current waterfall in the front window:
The old one from last year, that was half-assed to be an experiment, and didn't hold together well:

Parts of old waterfall

Cardboard and foam cuts for the new one:

Parts for new waterfall

All taped together with much better tape that goes around it as straps, that will actually hold it together:

All taped together

Sewing a cloth cover on it to look better and hold it up, the tailpiece for it hanging down is part of this, be sure to keep reading if you are making these:

Sewing the cover on it

Hanging it in place (keep reading):

Lots of clamps to hold it up as I tack it

What it looks like when it's up in position to block drafts:

Waterfall up

What it looks like when it's down, not being used:

Waterfall down

WAIT!! DOWN? What did you do there, Pearl?
This is where the design got interesting....

The red lines are the white fabric around the core, two pictures, when it's hanging down, and when it flips up, then I'll explain how I got them to fit right.

Waterfall DOWN

Waterfall UP

To make that work I used a strip of paper and a book. If you look at the DOWN picture, the part on  the underside of the window ledge has that curl at the end. The end is where I tacked it to the underside of the ledge to hang it in place. I made sure I had good thick cloth there to tack through to hold it well.

I took my strip of paper, folded the end into the size I can tack through, then folded it up and around the window ledge, into the way the UP picture looks. I put the book on the paper in position to pretend to be the waterfall core, then folded it up behind the book, so I know now where the BACK of the waterfall will be (toward the glass.)

I took my well marked strip of paper, and when I was making the cloth cover for the core, I added a tail the length of the strip of paper, to the GLASS SIDE, BOTTOM EDGE of the waterfall cover cloth. Folded it all up carefully, made sure the amount of tail was right, then sewed the cover shut.

I clamped it in to place to hold it still when I tacked it up on the underside of the window ledge, and when I was done, it will now hang flat against the wall, out of the way, when not in use, and fold up into position when in use.

And that will also hopefully hold it from blowing off on spring days when the window was open for air but the waterfall was up to keep the cold from pouring in, and it blew off across the room and REALLY upset my cat who was laying in the sunshine!

These waterfalls are working REALLY WELL! Better than I expected. They have been added to my house design, and I drew out the design for the complete system in a new thread. If you want to see more of what I have in the rental, and what I want in my home, I will link it here as soon as I finish it, within a day.

The new thread I promised
Window Insulation: Pearl's designs for layers
It gets weird and extensive!
You might find some useful ideas in it, I hope so, that's why I posted all of it, so more people can get ideas and make something that works for their world by looking at what works in mine.

Ingenious, Pearl! I am so glad of the reminder, as it's time to start winterising soon.

Jane Mulberry wrote:Ingenious, Pearl! I am so glad of the reminder, as it's time to start winterising soon.

Yup! I have been pushing myself to get these threads done just for that. Time to think about it!!
Hard part about this thread was I had to actually do the rework of the waterfall so I could take pictures before I wrote it up :D

Your work is appreciated!

I'm definitely doing this in my Bulgarian house when I visit next. The windows are ancient single pane, glass barely thicker than paper. How they made it so thin is amazing! I puttied the glass into the frame, which helped somewhat, but the windows are still very leaky and the glass hardly slows down heat loss and cold gain at night at all.

Currently my bed is right in a corner with a row of windows at the head and another row on one side, and the cold air all puddles on the bed at night. Brr, starting from about now! But I think even the quick cardboard version of these will make a difference until I can set up something more permanent. I'll have to be on the lookout for decent sized pieces of styrofoam for that..