I have a house constructed as follows: first a basic ranch house was built, years later an extension went out the back with a garage under it. The front part of the house was built with standard double pane windows but then storm windows were placed over those. The front is also well insulated.
The extension seems to lose heat for a number of reasons. The ceiling is knotty pine and fits into the shape of the room so there is little or no insulation under that roof- but I can't tell as there is no way to see into it. I presume the walls have at least some insulation- it was built about 15 years ago and I'm sure it was inspected (in Massachusetts). Some heat is lost to the unheated garage underneath.
So, since I don't know what I can do about loss to the roof or basement- I thought I could do something with the windows, which in the extension are double paned- perhaps I could add storms over the. There are a lot of windows, on 3 sides of this large room (roughly 34x22).
But I've been told by 2 people that it would be a waste of money- one was an energy auditor and he ought to know- the other was an employee at Home Depot who said he took a course on insulation.
With heating oil approaching $4/gallon, would adding storms on double paned windows be that bad an investment?
Joe