Cheap bubble wrap hack to keep you warm this winter

Bubble wrap could save you thousands in double glazing costs and hundreds on your energy bills, according to the FixIt Chicks.

Australians doing it tough this winter might want to consider bubble wrapping their windows instead of forking out a fortune for real double glazing, or having to cop huge energy bills from keeping the heater on.

Scientists Lish Fejer and Jenny Edwards, the FixIt Chicks, have repopularised an old hack to warm up your home and save on energy costs, by taping bubble wrap to the inside of your single glazed windows.

“We didn’t come up with bubble glazing it has actually been around for a long time, I think it originated in the US,” Building specialist Jenny Edwards said.

“Lish and I have been talking about it for well over 15 years.”

Lish Fejer, of the FixIt Chicks with Jenny Edwards, and their bubble glazing hack. Picture: Supplied

Bubble glazing is a $2 hack that will save you thousands on double glazing your windows, which can cost you up to $1500 per square metre, while also cutting down your energy bills.

“The bubble wrap works in a very similar way to double glazing and will reduce your energy loss dramatically,” Ms Edwards said.

Windows are the biggest hole in a person’s home in terms of energy loss, and with a cost of living crisis many Australians are having to make tough choices on essentials, like heating their homes. Ms Edwards said bubble glazing is a really fantastic option for people in these situations.

“In Canberra, where I live, we are finding that having a decent window dressing can reduce your home’s energy loss by up to 20 per cent in winter,” she said.

“Most importantly you will feel so much more comfortable in your home, because you’re not sitting next to a freezing cold window.”

Jenny Edwards of Light House Architecture and Science, and the FixIt Chicks. Picture: Supplied.

Bubble wrap is extremely cost-effective way to insulate your home. Picture: Getty Images.

Bubble glazing also fights against condensation, which if left unchecked can lead to mould growth in your home during winter, Ms Edwards explained.

As a building specialist Ms Edwards stressed the first thing you should do (if you can) is to insulate and draught seal your home, before considering whether you need to double glaze your windows at all.

If you are not in the position to do either of those things, that is where bubble glazing is a “really great in-between option,” she said.

“For renters and people doing it tough this is such a cheap and cost-effective option.

“Lish and I have lived in bad rentals before and know the hack works, and I’ve done it in my own kids’ rentals as well.

“At least when we lived in unhealthy rentals we could afford to eat as well as heat our homes.”

Ms Edwards said she would much prefer to see an increase in incentives, at all levels of government, to make energy efficiency in the home more accessible, so people don’t need to rely on the bubble wrap hack.

“People doing it the toughest will get huge, huge benefits from insulating their homes,” she said.

“I really encourage people, if they are going to save up to do anything, do it to top up their ceiling insulation and insulate their walls.

“But I do think there’s a role for the government to help low-income households.”