Community Energy Action Retail Shop
Community Energy Action's retail shop is located at 76 Moorhouse Ave (close to cnr Selwyn St), Christchurch. We are open from 9am - 4.30pm, Monday to Friday.
We sell a range of affordable DIY home insulation products to help make your home warmer including:
Prices valid from 1 July 2010. All prices are excluding postage (when ordering online).
»Order Online
You can order window kits and V-seal online with our secure payment system, we accept MasterCard and Visa.
»V-Seal weather/draught stopping
Door and window weather stripping reduces draughts, making houses easier to heat and more comfortable to live in. This is a D.I.Y product that can be applied to window and door frames. Sealing doors and windows provides energy cost savings of up to $40 per year, giving a payback period of 1.25 years.
Purchase through our website, or from our retail shop.
Price: $14.50 per 5m roll (excluding postage).
»Draught-stops for external doors
Sometimes doors do not hang in their frames squarely, or there is a gap between the bottom of the door and the floor. Draught stops for external doors can make a real difference by preventing cooler outside air forcing its way into your house. Our Mr Cosy Draught Excluders consists of a PVC carrier and a brush. Available in white and brown.
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Price: $8.00
Not available for purchase online. Purchase through our retail shop only at 76 Moorhoue Ave.
»Draught-stop door sausage for internal doors
Remember your Grandma (or Grandpa) making a door sausage out of an old rugby sock and rice? Door sausages lie at the bottom of internal doors to stop cold draughts sneaking into your room. They are a low cost, long lasting and effective way to reduce draughts between rooms. We've brought the humble door sausage into the 21st century using a water proof, hard-wearing filling and a range of tough upholstery fabric colours which are handwashable. The filling is made from shredded plastic which has been stripped off wire cables.
We sell double door sausages (see image below - top three door sausages) and single door sausages (see image below - bottom three door sausages). Both types are between 79-80cm in length.
Double door sausages are two single door sausages joined together by a layer of fabric which slides under the door. They fit on both sides of a door and you don't have to keep replacing them because they open and close with the door. You can also use them to keep a door ajar in hot summer days. This is the gold standard of door sausages and you won't find any better (see images below).
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Because CEA is committed to sustainable business practices, we use off-cuts of donated upholstery material. This means that no door sausage is alike, or matching door sausages will be available in limited numbers only. We will do our best to meet your request in a general fabric and colour range (e.g. plain or patterned fabric, or neutral, dark, light, pastel or primary colours).
Price: $7.50 per single door sausage
$13 per double door sausage
Available for purchase online and through our retail shop.
Due to the weight of our door sausages, postage costs are as follows:
1-3 door sausages postage- $10
4-6 door sausages postage- $20
7-10 door sausages postage- $30
»Hot water cylinder wraps
Up to 34% of an average power bill is spent on heating hot water. Cylinder wraps increase the effectiveness of older type hot water cylinders and can save up to 10% of a monthly power bill. Installing a cylinder wrap provides energy cost savings of between $28 - $93 per year, giving a payback period of 1.0 - 3.5 years.
Your hot water cylinder may need to be wrapped if it is warm to touch. Anything less than an 'A' grade cylinder may also need to be wrapped. IMPORTANT! There must be a clearance of at least 5-10cm between the cylinder and the closest walls to ensure that a wrap can be fitted around it.
Comes in a pack with instructions and tape.
Price: D.I.Y. cylinder wrap $70.00 or $55.00 for Community Services card holders
Purchase through our retail shop only at 76 Moorhouse Ave.
»Plastic window insulation kit
A plastic window insulation kit acts like double glazing but at a much more affordable price than permanent glazing. It is an ideal solution during the colder months of the year if permanent double window glazing is not affordable for a household.
FAQ's
What does a plastic window insulation kit consist of?
Will it work on aluminium window frames?
Where is the best place to install plastic window insulation?
When is the best time of year to install it?
What size windows can I insulate and how much does it cost?
How is a plastic window insulation kit installed?
If you have any feedback about our window kits, please email info@cea.co.nz. We want to make sure our customers are happy, and need to know about any problems they might experience.
What does it look like?
The plastic is clear and properly installed the impact on the view through the window is minimal, but see our comments about this under 'cautions.'
What does a plastic window insulation kit consist of?
- A thin layer of clear plastic film
- Double sided tape
- Alcohol wipes to prepare the frame surface
- Illustrated instructions on how to install the window insulation
How does it work?
Unlike other window-treatment products the plastic is not applied directly onto the glass. The plastic film is taped to the internal side of a window frame. This creates a sealed air cavity between the plastic and glass. The double layer of plastic and glass helps to reduce heat loss through the glass and draughts through the window frame. The warmer air between the plastic and the glass also acts as a buffer between the warmer inside air and the colder outside air, reducing condensation on the window.
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The left hand window is insulated with plastic window insulation. The right hand window is uninsulated and continues to collect condensation and lose heat |
Plastic window insulation kits are most effective when the window frame is at least 10-20 millimetres (mm) thick. This thickness is required to create an adequate sealed air cavity between the plastic and glass.
They are best used on clean, un-flaking paint or varnished surface.
They are not recommended for use on plaster, drywall/wallboard, or unfinished/unvarnished wood, or window frames with a flaking paint surface.
Will it work on aluminium window frames?
Yes!
But plastic window insulation kits are most effective when the window frame is at least 10-20 millimetres (mm) thick. This thickness is required to create an adequate sealed air cavity between the plastic and glass. Some aluminium window frames are thinner than 10 millimeters, and plastic window insulation may not be effective on these very thin frames.
How long does it last for?
A plastic window insulation kit is not a permanent double glazing solution, but if the windows are not tampered with, the plastic can remain intact for several years.
Where is the best place to install plastic window insulation?
Plastic window insulation can be installed on windows in most rooms in a house, providing the frames are of an adequate thickness. But if you want to maximise the benefits of installing plastic window insulation, insulate the windows in the rooms you heat most first. This means you will be preventing more loss of heat than if you insulated windows in rooms that were heated to lower temperatures or for shorter lengths of time.
What is the R-value/How effective is it?
Heat travels from warm to colder areas. The ability of insulation to resist this heat movement is known as its R value. The higher the R value, the better the insulation. The R value depends on the type of material and how thick it is. The higher the R value the more effective the insulation.
CEA is unaware of R-Value testing of plastic film but as the picture above demonstrates it can provide an insulation value comparable to other forms of double glazing, and can give better performance than many. The reasons are twofold:
- The typical air gap between glass and plastic on a wooden framed window is typically about 20mm, higher than some other forms of double glazing, thus providing a better still-air insulating gap.
- Some forms of double glazing are attached to unbroken metal frames which create a pathway for heat to escape from the inside to the outside, thus compromising the overall performance of the window. With plastic film no additional heat conduction pathways are created by the plastic film or its framing.
Can the plastic be cleaned?
CEA has trialled cleaning the plastic with a soft cloth dampened with a small amount of window cleaner. No short term adverse affects (e.g. up to 4 weeks after cleaning) were detected and the plastic was marginally cleaner. You won't be able to clean the internal side of the window once the plastic window insulation has been installed, so make sure it is very clean before you install it! Install in a clean, dust free environment.
When is the best time of year to install it?
If you have wooden window frames, make sure that the frames are dry as possible before you tape the plastic to the frame. This will minimise the humidity of the air trapped between the plastic and the glass. The end of summer, after your wooden frames have had a chance to dry out is the best time to install plastic window insulation.
What size windows can I insulate and how much does each kit cost?
Kits are available in two sizes that can be cut to fit to the specific size of your windows. It is important to measure the windows you want to insulate before you order your kits! Prices and sizes include:
Size | Dimensions in Metres | Length of Tape | Price / Kit |
Large | 2.13 x 3.05 metres | 10.59 metres | $18.70 |
Long | 1.57 x 5.33 metres | 27.40 metres | $24.70 |
Can the plastic be recycled?
Yes. The film is a Low Density PolyEthylene and the recycling number for this plastic is (04).
How are plastic window insulation kits installed?
Installing the plastic is very easy! All you need is a pair of scissors, a hair dryer and a measuring tape.
The plastic is installed on the inside of the house, on the internal side of the window frame. It is not fixed on the glass itself.
The basic steps
It is important to make sure that the surface of the window frame you are sticking the double sided tape to is very clean, using the alcohol wipes provided in the window kit. The frame also needs to be dry. This will make sure the tape sticks properly and avoid condensation being trapped between the plastic and the glass.
Many of the installation tips on this page have been gathered through a survey conducted in September 2008 with just over 160 customers who purchased our window kit online. 54 (33%) completed the survey. Customer comments from this survey are marked (*).
More tips - preparing the window frames
Make sure that any frames you install the kit on are dry, especially wooden window frames. This will prevent condensation forming in the internal gap after the plastic has been installed. To insure complete dryness, use a hair dryer directly on the mounting surface. This helps to remove trapped moisture, particularly on cold metal surfaces
Two customers have informed CEA that they have placed small packets of dessicant supplied with pill or vitamin bottles on the window sill before installing the plastic to try and reduce reduce the moisture between the glass and the plastic. CEA has not yet heard if this is an effective long-term solution to condensation.
If you intend leaving the film up permanently take off the window hardware, put a piece of the tape around the screw holes and fit the film to the outside edges of the window, then put the window hardware (latches etc) back on, and you won't notice the film so much once it is shrunk into place.*
More tips - applying the tape
Removing the tape backing
Fold a small corner of the tape back and make a crease. Using your fingernail, separate the tape from the paper backing. (The backing will remain folded while the tape straightens out.) Use the folded piece to start the roll.
Applying tape to window frames
When fitting the double-sided adhesive at the rectangular corners leave about two centimeters of backing in each end. This will make it easier to manipulate the plastic sheet later when fitting it in the corners. At the end the backing can be removed and the plastic sheet corner finished off. It makes it easier to remove it if the 2cm length of backing is about 1/2 cm longer than the adhesive tape.*
How can I help the tape stick to cold surfaces?
1. Heat the surface with a hair dryer.(When temperatures drop below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, adhesives tend to harden and won't stick.)
2. Firmly press the tape on to the surface before removing the release liner.
3. After removing the release liner, heat the tape with the hair dryer to soften the adhesive.
More tips - preparing the plastic
- Roll out the plastic and cut it on a hair and lint-free surface. Otherwise you might trap annoying cat, dog, or human hairs in the internal gap!
- Cut more than the actual size of the window. It will be easier to put up and and you can trim off the excess later if you want to. This also allows for mis-measuring.
The excess film border could be several centimeters wide or there won't be enough to re-attach if for any reason the shrunk film comes unstuck.*
More tips - applying the plastic to the double sided tape
- If film doesn't stick to the tape, use a hair dryer to warm the film while lightly pressing on the tape surface. This improves the adhesion of film to tape.
- Try to avoid over-tightening the plastic film when you are shrinking it. It may not stick to the double sided tape easily if the tension in the plastic is too high.
- Warm the window sills and tape up a bit in very cold weather using a hair drier.*
- Make sure your hands and the window are very clean before you install the plastic*
- Let gravity help you install the film*
More tips - the best way to remove a window kit
Before pulling of the plastic film get a hair dryer and heat up the area where the double sided tape is. This will soften the tape's adhesive. Once you've softened the adhesive pull off the plastic film. The adhesive will come off with the plastic film rather than staying behind on your window frame.
Any residue that may be left behind you may use an Duck Brand Adhesive Remover. The key is to let the adhesive remover soak for about five to ten minutes.
Other tips
Buy extra tape over above what is supplied in the packet*
Cautions
Plastic windows can be an excellent, low cost form of double glazing, but they are not necessarily suitable for all situations. We caution about the installing plastic window film in the following situations:
- Windows where there is a high chance of damage e.g. highly accessible to small children poking, prodding, drawing!, or cats clawing the plastic
- Windows where you treasure the high quality view - while the distortion of the plastic film is generally minimal it could still detract from your ‘viewing pleasure'
- Where the window frame joints are poorly aligned and have air gaps which would prevent proper air-tightness of the plastic film
- Where the glass pane in the window is cracked, or where the pane is poorly fitted and not properly sealed on the outside
- In the middle of winter if wooden frames have become wet through condensation. The best time of the year to install plastic window insulation is in late summer or early autumn on a hot day when your house and window frames have had a chance to dry out.
Other cautions include:
- Where window insulation kits have been left installed for very long periods of time (e.g. over several years) the tape may leave a light stain on the paint surface.
CEA conducted a survey conducted in September 2008 with just over 160 customers who purchased our window kit online. 54 (33%) completed the survey.
- 85% of customers reported that the plastic window insulation was effective at improving warmth and comfort, plus reduced condensation. The remainder could not tell if the insulation made a difference.
- The most commonly stated concerns are worries about condensation trapped between plastic and glass (7%), and concern about the effect of removing the tape from the window frames (7%).
- A significant majority of customers (89%) would be prepared to buy plastic window insulation from CEA again, and an even greater number (94%) would recommend the kits to their friends and family.
The main reasons for repeat purchases of plastic window insulation is because it is effective and makes a difference, and it is good value for money.
Other comments included:
"I have been singing it's praises all over." M.M.R., Tauranga
"They have made the rooms much cosier and we notice the heatpump was running on high less often to keep the temperature up" K.S., Darfield
"It makes the freezing New Zealand house liveable in winter" U.W. Wanaka
"They are cheap and very effective. I love them and recommend them already to everyone I meet." L.E. Gisborne
If you have any feedback about our window kits, please email info@cea.co.nz. We want to make sure our customers are happy, and need to know about any problems they might experience.