Does the frozen water around the window perimeter indicate heat loss? If so my house is a sieve.
If you have metal frames that could be a heat loss (I once got some flat, wooden molding strips and covered the frames. It helped insulate them + looked a lot better. The best windows have wooden frames but they are pricey.
I have the Anderson 400 series window in my house.. One of the most expensive windows you can buy. I decided to pony up for them when I built rather than install builder grade and pay again later for something better. It happens to me too.
I crank up my wood stove and I will also boil water on the stove to add some moisture. Once I get up to a certain point of moisture... I will start getting the condensation on the inside of the glass. In my last house this was more than moisture... It was a little sheet of ice! It doesn't necessarily indicate heat but more how cold it is outside vs how moist inside.
A better window will certainly help!
New windows+ a new house. I cover the frame in plastic as an added barrier of insulation. If humidity is frozen on the windows then why add more by boiling water. It won't remain in the air so what is the point if it is stuck on the windows. I keep it at 64F & force everyone to wear 6 layers inside. Frugal. Worked outdoors for 30 years. No whining here allowed.
@Countrywoman I like my humidity level in the house above 50%. My wood floors like it too... Plus the house heats more easily with humidity in the air. I generally don't have the condensation on my windows and I know it is time to back off when I start seeing the condensation. So that is what I use as a throttle, so to speak.
I have spray foam insulation in all my walls and double blown in insulation in the attic. The one thing I did not get (yet) is a humidifier for my two furnaces. A big pot of water will achieve similar results.
Be careful on trapping the moisture between your windows and the plastic. If your windows are wood... It will eventually rot them!
YES. I usta live on a farm in Wis...I had snow banks on the inside of my window sill!
I just learned what those doors were for on the 2nd floor of some houses. The snow would be so high that the folks had to go out the 2nd floor. Who knew. Always learning.
@Countrywoman We were snowed in at the farm. Had to cross country ski to go get a sack of weed.
@Lop-Eared-Mule Always worth the trip.