To be frank, I’m not sure if replacing the single pane with double pane is: A - something I can afford at the moment and B - something I can DIY (which adds to point A).
I have a feeling that the windows are a large part of my electricity usage (due to AC constantly running), I have them “foiled” and really tempted just to board them up. Before I go to that extreme, I was thinking maybe there’s something I can attach to the outside that would essentially add that 2nd pane, or at least block some sun from hitting the glass.
suggestions?
Usually double panes are more important in the cold, not in the warmth. A house is typically kept at around 72F. Depending upon where the house is, seeing temps in the negatives is very possible in the winter. That’s a Tdelta of 70 degrees or more. In the summer, your Tdelta is probably not much more than 30 degrees since few places get much higher than 100F or so. The higher the Tdelta, the more heat transfer there will be.
If you have issues with too much heat coming through your windows, then an easy solution to try is tint the windows. Home Depot has window film which you can cut to size and install on any window, including patio doors. The best ones have a reflective coating which bounces the light away from the house. You can install them in just a few minutes and I think most of them are totally removable.
Having shade is incredibly important as well. Planting a tree or bush which will give the window and the side of the house shade will do wonders to cooling a house down. A pergola or other structure that shades the area is an easy solution as well.
I’ve found that the tinting doesn’t do much good. We have burglar bars on the inside of the window so as an experiment, I put my laser thermometer on the bars of a window that had tint vs one that had foil (both on the same wall) and it was a 15F difference. We’re in TX, so it’s been over 100 every day for the past two months or more.
15F is a huge difference?
Well, the desired temp inside is 70F, the bars behind the foiled window was 80F, and the ones behind the filmed window were 95F. So I would say yes.
Reflective surfaces and non contact thermometers don’t always get accurate readings.