I'm writing this entry on my laptop, which is currently stationed in my bedroom at my office desk, which is currently in my bedroom instead of the office due to my temporary houseguests. The desk sits in a lovely spot right in front of a window that looks out the front of my house onto the street. My room is directly above the garage too. It's a fine setup....but it's freaking FREEEEEEEEZING sitting here.
My room has always been the coldest in the house, second only to the basement depending on the time of year. The combination of it being above the garage AND facing northwest with somewhere close to 80 square feet of builder's-grade windows across the front wall means that it just can't be avoided. It is cold, cold, cold in here.
I didn't really notice it all that much until last winter, when I moved my bed from the side wall over the front wall, underneath that giant expanse of windows. BRRRRRR I realized at night. But, I'd had my bed against the side wall for nearly twelve years by that point in time, and I just wanted a change. Besides, I do prefer to sleep in a cooler room than a warmer one, so I added an extra blanket to the bed and decided to leave it.
For some reason, even though this has been a milder winter, it seems much colder than usual in this room. Maybe because now that I'm working from home I spend a lot more time than I used to in my bedroom (because my office is currently in here too, not because I'm sleeping more). But it is definitely drafty, no doubt about it. I at least need to have my slippers on and a warm winter sweater to be able to stand it. And I often sleep wearing a sweatshirt over top of my regular flannel-bottomed pyjamas. Sexy.
So today, prompted by the government's ecoENERGY program offering rebates for these kinds of upgrades, I had a guy come to provide a quote for what it would cost to replace them with more energy-efficient windows. I don't really understand the whole Argon/low-E mumbo jumbo, but what I do know is that it means BETTER. Without having a firm quote in hand, the ballpark verbal estimate was a whole lot more than I anticipated....but we'll see what it comes in at once the math is all done. And of course I'll shop around, but dang: that was a much bigger number preceding those three zeros than I was counting on.
Continued slippers and sweatshirts as bedclothes, or energy-efficient comfort with a big price tag? Decisions, decisions....
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