Beechworth Sustainability

By Gabrielle Prior

Tired of living in a winter cave with the curtains drawn to keep in the warmth?

Wish you had double glazing but can't afford it?

Renting a house so window or curtain upgrades aren't an option?

Want a way to help keep the heat in and maybe reduce your heating costs?

What you need is bubble-glazing!

No, it's not an urban myth - you really can use bubble-wrap to double the r-rating of your windows (the r-rating is a measure of the window's insulating abilities). That might not sound like much but trust me, it makes a noticeable difference.

So, what's so great about bubble-glazing?

• It's cheap - all you need is regular bubblewrap (not the blue-tinted biodegradable stuff) and a spray bottle with water
• It's easy to install - spray the window with water, place a piece of bubble wrap cut to size onto the window - bubble side facing the glass - and press gently. No special tools required. We have found that a little bit of glycerine (available from the supermarket or chemist) enhances the sticking power, but plain water also seems to work.
• It's easy to remove - just peel it off the window
• It doesn't leave marks on the glass - a quick wipe over and thei are good as new
• It's reusable - mark your pieces with small stickers and you can put them up year after year. Lifecycle estimates range from 3-7 years for the bubblewrap, depending on use (some people leave it up year round) and how much direct sun your window gets
• It adds privacy - the appearance from outside is a bit like frosted glass.....
• It's easy to see how effective it is - put some bubblewrap on one window and leave an adjacent one bare. Put one hand on each window - see the difference?
• It REALLY makes a difference, and you might be able to cut back on the use of your heaters

The only downside is that it does impact on your view outside. The photo on the left shows the bedroom windows half complete. However it doesn't reduce light into a room, and for areas like bedrooms, laundries and bathrooms where a view isn't a primary consideration, then the trade off for warmth is well worth it when it's Beechworth cold outside. I quite like the slightly impressionistic feel it gives to the world outside.

Over the past month or so we have "bubble-glazed" most of our thin windows, with the exception of the upper living and dining room windows so we can still enjoy the view to the rainy days outside . We don't have central heating, just a  wood burning stove and a ceiling fan. All other heaters are electric (no reticulated gas or bottle gas heaters). Last winter we had an electric heater on in the bedroom every night and morning for about 21/2 months of the year, as it got just too cold to sleep (the bedroom has a wall of floor to almost ceiling windows). This year after bubble-glazing the windows we have used the electric heater in the bedroom 3-4 times so far, and as you know it's been pretty cold around here of late. Bubble-glazing in the bathroom and toilet have made a large difference to the temperature of those unheated rooms on cold mornings, and it's no longer the same degree of icy torture to get up in the middle of the night to visit the loo.

If you decide to go the "whole hog" as we've done and bubble-glaze a lot of windows it's worth looking online for bubble-wrap suppliers. We bought a 50m x 1.5m roll online from a supplier in Melbourne for $65 including free postage (and they sent it airmail !) and it arrived in less than 48 hours.Just google bubble-wrap and look for the company offering free postage.

If you're interested in finding out more about bubble-glazing here are a few links to get you started:

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Conservation/bubblewrap.htm

http://mtbest.net/bubble_glazing.html