sunscreen - much better than bubblewrap
Bubble wrap did not work well for me, not at all. I got bubblewrap from E bay especially for the purpose of insulation of the windows. I had already determined that the side of the window with a screen was about 1 degree warmer. Well it turned out that the bubblewrap was no better than this. Also it almost completely blocks the visibility through the windows. One thing that it might do is to help cut down on drafts.
This past fall I replaced a regular screen with sunscreen, and was surprised to see a significant difference. I don't have the figures in front of me, but it was about 5 degrees difference. As a result, I got more frames and put sunscreen on all the east and west windows of my house, which has made a major difference! I used to have to get a fire going if the outside temp was lower than 41 degrees. Now it can be several degrees colder. For example, last night it was 36 degrees and I didn't even consider to get a fire going, because it wasn't that cold in the house.
The sunscreen keeps the house warmer in winter, cooler in summer, and it makes a great privacy window! If someone was right outside of a window, they would not be able to see the people inside.
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