Anyone
who watches the news or who has filled up their car with gasoline lately knows
that energy costs are rising. The increase in the cost of petroleum has affected
the cost of many forms of energy – heating oil, natural gas and indirectly,
electricity. The way it looks now it's going to cost more to stay warm this
coming winter than ever before.
While
there's not much we can do about the cost of the energy required to heat our
homes, there's lots we can do to make sure we use as little of it as possible,
and that our precious warmed air stays in the house -- not in the cold outdoors,
sucked out through air leaks.
According
to the U.S. Department of Energy, stopping air leaks in a house can save as much
as 40 percent on the home's heating and cooling costs. Your mission, should you
choose to accept it, is to turn your home into an airtight "envelope."
The
basic tools needed to tighten up a home are a good all-purpose caulk, a caulking
gun, filler caulk for larger holes, weather stripping for doors and windows and
insulating gaskets for electrical outlets. You may also need expanding foam to
fill larger holes.
LIGHT SWITCHES AND ELECTRICAL OUTLETS:
Install foam gaskets behind all light switches and electrical outlet covers,
even those in interior walls. These simple foam gaskets help seal the holes
created when the outlets and light switches are built into homes. After
installing the gaskets, use child safety plugs to keep the cold air from coming
in through the sockets. Find foam gasket kits at home-improvement stores.
AIR CONDITIONERS: Remove window air conditioners. If they can't be removed,
seal up the area around the unit with removable rope caulk and add an air
conditioner window insulation blanket.
WINDOWS AND DOORS: Weather-strip and caulk all cracks between walls and window
trim, especially under windowsills. Replace broken glass, and putty any loose
windowpanes. Caulk around the moving parts of windows with a non-permanent caulk
during the winter. This type of caulk can be easily removed in the spring.
RECESSED LIGHTS AND BATHROOM FANS:
Caulk around these from below with high-temperature, flexible caulk.
OTHER EXTERIOR WALL HOLES: Seal around all ceiling fixtures, heat registers, medicine
cabinets, bathtubs, kitchen cabinets, drains and water pipes where they enter
the walls, and any other holes in exterior walls.
FIREPLACE:
When the fireplace is not in use, keep the flue damper tightly closed. A chimney
is designed specifically for smoke to escape, so until you close it, warm air
escapes -- 24 hours a day! It's never too late to winterize your home. But if
you get started today it will be a lot simpler than if you wait until Old Man
Winter is knocking at your door.