Autumn is in the air here - we hit 38-degrees F last night. The down comforter and wood stove are both back in service. We are still plugging along with our remodel and with winter breathing down our necks we are hoping to get the rest of our house insulated soon. Our extensive remodeling has allowed us to incorporate many air sealing and insulating techniques as we go. We decided to go with insulation batts just because it is more do-it-yourself. But if you don't want to tear into walls to insulate, you can hire a company to blow-in insulation.
Did you know that 31% of the typical utility bill in the U.S. goes to space heating? That's a big chunk of money, and more than likely fossil fuels, that might be slipping out the cracks of your home. Consider all of the penetrations in your floor (plumbing) and walls (electricity, cable), and roof (vents), and windows, and doors - these are potential spots for heat to leak out in the winter (or leak in during summer months). Think of it this way: a 1/4-inch gap around every cable, telephone wire, and electricity connection, added to a 1/2-to1-inch gap around every plumbing line coming in and going out, plus little gaps around vents, windows and doors, could add up to a hole the size of a softball, or even worse a basketball, in your wall. Starting to feel a little chill?
Fortunately there are many easy things you can do to help reduce those air leaks. You can add/replace weatherstripping around doors, caulk around windows and window trim, seal exterior wall outlets (receptacles) and light switches with foam sealers.
Here's a pretty basic website to get you started:
http://www.energysavers.gov/tips/home_energy.cfm
There's also this one that goes into the air sealing one can do when building a new house or doing some serious remodeling:
http://www.habitat.org/env/pdf/air_sealing.pdf
Stay warm this winter!
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