I sit directly under a window much of the time (don't suggest I move, there just isn't another practical option). When it is cold the window has a draft that is downright brutal. I plugged the window with a 3/4 inch piece of Styrofoam insulation and the draft persists (sealed with tape around the edges). Seems even a couple of degrees difference with the room air can create a draft that is cold enough to be a bother. The wall around the window reads 66 degrees while the Styrofoam reads about
64 degrees.I thought maybe the way to deal with the draft is to fight cold with fire. So I bought a few power resistors in the metal cases that can be mounted. I wired them in series and connected a variable supply as I didn't know how much power I would need. Turns out a fair amount. If I crank up the heat to around 30 to 40 watts with the resistors right behind me on the sill of the window, the draft is gone. Not bad.
But I was wondering how best to mount them. At this wattage they get pretty warm, around 200 degrees! I was looking at sheet aluminum to mount them to thinking just a couple/three inches of height would do the job. But now I am wondering. I'm not sure a string of resistors along a three inch wide sheet of aluminum would reduce the temps that much and I'm not at all clear on how that might affect the airflow.
I am thinking of a much wider sheet that would not get so hot. I am also thinking it would help better to cut the draft by being larger. I'm thinking it would give rise to a reverse draft and possibly require less heat.
So which is better, a small hotter heat source or a spread out lower heat source. I suppose covering the entire windows with aluminum would be the best approach, but I'm not ready to do that. So maybe 12 inches of aluminum sheet?