With rising energy cost, its not a surprise the latest trend is making your home more efficient.
Check out these 5 tips for making keeping your home warmer without breaking the bank this winter!
1. Check Your Windows Seals and U-Factor Rating
Old worn down windows can be expensive to replace but they break the bank even more when it comes to heating a home with drafts.
Normally areas around the window tend to be cooler but if your windows are freezing around the perimeter and the walls around it, its a clear sign your windows are letting hot air out and cold air in.
On average a home loses 30% of its heat from non-certified windows. Making it a very big concern when you are thinking about trying to lower your heating bill in the winter.
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If you're shopping around for windows make sure to look for the U-Factor Rating. This will number will tell you how well a window will prevent hot air from escaping (Higher the better).
2. Attic Insulation
To reduce hot air from escaping its important to understand that hot air rises. Since hot air rises its crucial that the insulation in your attic be tended to.
Take a look in your attic and see if there is any insulation gaps. If there is an area where there is no insulation or very little, that is where heat is going to escape out of your roof vents.
Don't have attic access? No problem! Look up at your roof on a frosty morning and see if there is any areas that don't have frost. If there is, those are the locations where heat is trying to escape because there is not enough insulation.
3. Blinds and Window Dressings
Yes we are back at windows again! Its important!
Now if you do not have the budget for replacing every window in your house, then we have a solution for you.
There a ton of different window treatments you can buy on the market these days, so we've put together a chart below to help illustrate everything for you!
Again, some as you can see, are better in cooler climates and some in warmer climates. You can always get traditional blinds or curtains to help prevent the drafts from coming. It won't save you hundreds of dollars a month but the return on investment for $40 blinds might be beneficial on a low budget.
4. Window & Door Caulking
If you've caught on the the trend of this article its mainly about windows and doors. That's because they're the biggest openings on your house. If your windows and doors aren't operating at the highest efficiency, your bank account with notice.
If you've noticed lately that the silicone around the outside of your windows are peeling, cracking or completely gone, its time to re-apply!
Apply a light strip of caulking (usually white or clear) along the perimeter of the outside window frame where it connects to the house. This is the gap where the window meets the framing of the house and leaves airflow to enter into your home.
The same goes with doors, If you notice around the outside of your door there is a metal frame and caulking. If that caulking is cracking or peeling, just like your windows will let that cold breeze in when you don't want it.
5. Weather Stripping
Last but definitely not least, weather stripping!
Ok, not the most glamorous home upgrade you can brag about but if it puts dollars in your pocket, why not brag?
Weather stripping in a nut shell is a trim that goes around the door or window frame like in the picture below.
Like caulking it prevents air flow from coming through the door or window frame but is usually a foam tape product.
The weather stripping is applied around the door frame (where the door meets the frame to stop the door from swinging out).
The weather stripping around a window is applied usually inside around the frame of the window. If you have a bay or picture window (where two or more windows meet together), weather stripping is applied to the conjoining windows to prevent air between the windows coming in.
That's all folks! Winter is around the corner and so are those outrageous heating bills. Look around your home and see how you can use these tips to save yourself money this winter.