In order to help save more money and funnel more of those savings to debts, I'm looking for more ways to save money.
I've heard that puting plastic window insulation over single-pane windows typically found in older houses can reduce utility bills by up to 50%.
But I'm wondering, it's February, and I'm in Portland, Oregon, USA. Summers can get as hot as 100 degrees fahrenheit in the extremes. Living in a temperate climate, is there an advantage to keeping the plastic up year round, or will I just need to remove it in the Spring/Summer?
To further clarify and address the "airing out the house" issue, let's say that I only open two windows upstairs and two windows downstairs. There are 14 windows total in the house, plus 1 door upstairs and two doors downstairs, one in the front and one in the back.
My motivation for asking is to determine if the inputs I put in now in the form of putting up all that plastic in February will pay any dividends, or if it's best I wait until October.
Best Answer
If the plastic reduces air exchange between your home and the outside world in the wintertime, it will do the same thing for you in the summertime. You will get some benefit from the plastic in the summertime. I can't tell you how large of a benefit. But, based on my own experience, the tape that holds the plastic in place tends to grow loose after a season or two, so the quality of seal will deteriorate and you may find yourself having to put new plastic up anyway to maintain the seal.
Also, in my home (1921 with single pane windows) the impact of the plastic could not really be measured in terms of utility bills. It was nowhere near 50%. You will probably find that it makes the room much more comfortable, though.