Windows, humidity and A/C?

[Parks 788]

Question because I don't know and havent experienced this before.

We bought our property and did a sizeable remodel before moving in. House was built in 2008'ish with original double pane windows. THey are probably builder grade and nothing fancy. We were going to replace all windows during the remodel but decided to hold off on the additional $60K expense at that time and will be doing new windows in the next couple years.

One of my non-negotiables in life is keeping our house cool/cold in the summer months. AC is typically set at 70 during the day and 66 overnight. Just how it is and I won't change that. Every morning in the summer with the high heat and humidity our windows have a ton of condensate on the exterior of the outside window pane. Is this due to the poor quality of the current windows and lack of "gas" bewtween the window panes and the difference between the AC'd interior of the house and the outside temp/humidity? If/when we replace with quality windows will this moisture buildup on the outside window panes go away? BTW, in the winter when it gets really cold we do get frost buildup on some of the aluminum frames on the inside of the house. We know our current windows are crap but hoping this goes away once we drop some coin on new windows all around.

 

[trekrok]

I'd say much less likely with efficient windows. My bigger concern would condensation on the inside in the winter.

 

[okcBob]

I’d expect it’s because you have the ac set at 70. Try 72 for a few days to see if the condensation changes

 

[Adhdferret]

Question because I don't know and havent experienced this before.

We bought our property and did a sizeable remodel before moving in. House was built in 2008'ish with original double pane windows. THey are probably builder grade and nothing fancy. We were going to replace all windows during the remodel but decided to hold off on the additional $60K expense at that time and will be doing new windows in the next couple years.

One of my non-negotiables in life is keeping our house cool/cold in the summer months. AC is typically set at 70 during the day and 66 overnight. Just how it is and I won't change that. Every morning in the summer with the high heat and humidity our windows have a ton of condensate on the exterior of the outside window pane. Is this due to the poor quality of the current windows and lack of "gas" bewtween the window panes and the difference between the AC'd interior of the house and the outside temp/humidity? If/when we replace with quality windows will this moisture buildup on the outside window panes go away? BTW, in the winter when it gets really cold we do get frost buildup on some of the aluminum frames on the inside of the house. We know our current windows are crap but hoping this goes away once we drop some coin on new windows all around.

View attachment 401375

Black out curtains my guy!

It is what we been using on our 1958 built home and we can keep it 75 with 100+

Amazon has them, or you can just Google. But they don't have to look like a funeral home either, they come in patterns or stylish to compliment your space.

 

[Firemedic712]

We run a $125 dehumidifier during the summer. It makes a WORLD of difference and has paid for itself

 

[Firemedic712]

We also have our large windows tinted which was another couple hundred, but the front of our house faces west and it makes all the difference

 

[bigred1]

Black out curtains my guy!

It is what we been using on our 1958 built home and we can keep it 75 with 100+

Amazon has them, or you can just Google. But they don't have to look like a funeral home either, they come in patterns or stylish to compliment your space.

We hung black outs in the bedroom when I quit working cause I didn't want to know what time it was....still wake up at dawn thirty.

 

[Catt57]

Usually when double pane windows do that, it's due to one of the seals going bad.

Double-paned windows are sealed to maximize insulation. If that seal breaks, cracks, or otherwise fails, they loose their insulation value. In some cases moisture can enter between the panes.

 

[Firpo]

If I’m understanding you correctly this isn’t moisture in between the two window panes but simply moisture on the outside of the windows…..where it belongs. My WAG is the dew point was the same as the air temp and voila! Condensation!!

 

[-Pjackso]

Due to the interior air temp being so low, and the heat-loss through the window (read: Window U-value / R-value) - the surface of outside window pane temperature is below the dew-point of the outside air. Hence, With cold windows and High humidity - the condensation occurs.

You can control 2 of the 3 variables:
-Interior air temperature
-Window U-value (R value)
-Outside air temperature & humidity (dew temp)

Better windows will reduce heat-loss and the outside window surface won't be as cold. (Less chance of condensation)

Raising the interior air temperature will reduce the temperature delta, and the outside window surface won't be as cold. (Less chance of condensation)

Note: Wall Insulation is measured in "R" values. Windows are measured in "U" values. The 2 measurements are corelated, with U being the inverse of R.
U = 1/R, or R = 1/U

h t t p s://duckduckgo.com/difference between R and U value