For many reasons, I think winterizing the home before the cold weather really sets in is extremely important. By sealing up a leaky home, you can save energy AND save money – a continual theme of this blog and of living sustainably. We are going into our third winter season living in this house, and we know that the bedrooms tend to be very cold. In fact, we run a space heater in the girls’ room to prevent them from freezing at night. I continue to marvel at how wiggly they are when they sleep. When I am up late at night or checking in on them in the morning, I typically have to pull the covers back on them. I’d sleep easier knowing that their room will stay warm through the night.
Attic Insulation
When it comes to insulating a home when you are on a budget, there are many steps you can take that can cost little to nothing. Things like re-caulking windows and installing electrical socket insulators. When it comes to the bigger ticket items, the conventional wisdom seems to be to put your money where you will get the best return – in the attic. I got my ladder out and crawled up into the attic to take a look at the insulation. I am not expert, but it appears that I have blown-in insulation. By the look of things, I am suspecting that it needs replaced. The expense of that will have to wait.
Electrical Outlets
Believe it or not, an electrical outlet located on a wall that borders the exterior of the house can have a lot of air passing through it. They aren’t typically insulated during construction and can cause a lot of hot air to exscape causing energy bills to rise and comfort to suffer. For just a few dollars, you can buy a pack of electrical outlet insulators that can be installed in just a few easy steps. (1) Turn off the circuit breaker that feeds the outlet. (2) Remove the outlet cover. (3) Tuck the insulator around the outlets. (4) Replace the outlet cover. (5) Turn the circuit breaker back on. The skill level of this project is minimal.
Adding electrical outlet insulators can prevent drafts from coming through the wall.
Furnace
While calling an professional to do seasonal maintenance on the heating system is a wise idea, one simple thing you can do to help keep some efficiency of the unit is to replace the filter on a regular basis. Some filters can be changed every few months while other more frequently. It was quite apparent I had not kept up on changing my filter as you can see in the following picture.
Adjust the thermostat (and use the humidifier)
According to the book Save Energy, Save Money from Family Handyman magazine, increasing the humidity of a home with a thermostat set at 68 degrees can make a home feel 5 to 8 degrees warmer. Additionally, turning the heat down to 68 and putting on a sweater can also help with the energy bills. This won’t work for every one as there are several people I know who simply are comfortable inside or outside unless the temperature is about 76.
Close off unused rooms
Why pay to heat rooms you don’t use? We use our basement so rarely, that it doesn’t make sense to keep it heated. So, I have closed off the vents so I don’t pay to keep the spiders and cobwebs warm. During my inspection of the basement, it occurred to me that the ducts and vents that feed air to the basement don’t make sense. There are three vents in the entire basement; one in the bathroom and two about 6 feet apart near the center of the main room. This leaves quite a lot of space on the west side of the basement that has no direct air flowing to it. This also happens to be the same side of the house where the cold bedrooms reside upstairs.
Open the Curtains!
Open up the curtains during the day to let the sunlight warm the house. Close them up at night to all the curtains to insulate the room from the cold air trying to come in through the windows. In fact, the thicker the curtains – the better the insulating effect at night.
Don’t block the vents!
It might seem a bit too obvious, but it is a good idea to NOT block the air flow to a room from a vent. I have to keep an eye on the girls’ bedroom as toys tend to get piled up everywhere and sometimes block the vents enough to lose the heat.
Plant a tree?
What does planting a tree have to do with winterizing a home? Planting a deciduous tree on the south side of the house can help in both summer and winter. The leaves help shade the tree during the hot months of the year. Once the leaves fall in autum, it allows the suns rays to penetrate the house and assist in heating.
More to come in the coming days and weeks…
Recommended Reading: Save Energy, Save Money! From Family Handyman magazine and published by Reader’s Digest. I absolutely love this book. I am certainly no expert at home repair, but this book makes me feel like I can accomplish a lot of do-it-yourself maintenance projects. Clearly written and wonderfully illustrated. A must have for any homeowner embarking on energy saving projects!
