Rather than blowing your money out into the street this winter, take steps to keep the air inside as fall begins.
Trends in heating costs have been nothing short of bleak in recent years. According to the NEADA, the cost of natural gas has skyrocketed from an average of $539 in the winter of 2019-2020 to $726 in the winter of 2023 to 2024. Heating oil prices are climbing at an even faster rate, jumping from an average of $1,352 to $2,275 in that period. Weather Tape
One way to push back against those rising heat costs is to make your home more energy efficient by sealing the many gaps and holes that allow cold air to enter your home. Here’s how.
To fix leaks, first you have to find them. According to the Department of Energy, the most effective way to locate leaks is to hire a professional to conduct a blower door test on your home. A blower door is a large fan that pulls air out of your home, decreasing the pressure inside and causing outside air to be sucked in through any holes or gaps.
With the blower door running, technicians use an infrared camera or smoke pen to identify where the air is coming in. While this is the most effective way of identifying leaks, it’s not the cheapest. Expect to pay between $300 and $400 for a blower test.
A more economical way to identify leaks is to simply inspect your home for visible openings. Outside the home, look at places where gaps are most likely to form, such as at the corners of your home, the seams around chimneys, and where the foundation meets the home’s siding. Indoors, check for gaps around doors and windows, switch plates, baseboards and attic hatches.
Air can escape into the attic through gaps created by recessed lighting, plumbing and electrical runs, ductwork, and exhaust vents. Stuff any gaps around pipes with fiberglass insulation then fill them with expanding foam. Use expanding foam to fill the gaps between electrical boxes and the surrounding drywall and to fill any holes in the box itself. For light fixtures, place a recessed light cover over the fixture then create an airtight seal between the cover and the drywall using foam spray.
An attic hatch is a major source of heat loss in the wintertime. Often the gap between the frame of the attic hatch and the framing of the home is not properly insulated, creating a space through which heat can travel. From inside the attic, use spray foam insulation to seal the gap between the attic hatch framing and the ceiling joists they are attached to. Next, add weatherstripping around the entire rim of the attic hatch door if it’s not already there. Finally, attach a piece of rigid foam board cut to size and attach to the attic side of the hatch.
Most American homes have forced-air heating and cooling units that circulate warm and cool air through ducts. Leaks in those ducts are quite common. In fact, those ducts leak up to 15% of the air that travels through them. Those gaps in ductwork also create inverse pressure that pulls unconditioned air from your crawl space or basement into the home. Use fiber-reinforced mastic duct sealant, which is what the pros use, to fill those gaps and make your HVAC system more efficient.
Sealing gaps and openings around your foundation and insulating rim joists will help keep cool air from entering during winter and escaping during summer. Focus on the space where the first floor’s framing meets the foundation slab. Use spray foam insulation for larger gaps or where pipes and wiring emerge through the wall. For smaller gaps, use caulk. Fill larger gaps with backer rod (an inexpensive foam rope available in a variety of sizes) before caulking.
Rim joists, the framing that runs around the perimeter of your home, are a major source of heat loss. You can access them via your basement or crawl space. Insulate the rim joists from the inside using pieces of rigid foam insulation that’s cut to size to fit against the rim joist and between the floor joists. Once in place, seal the gaps around each piece with expanding foam.
Conventional fireplaces may be romantic, but they can suck more heat out of a house than they put into it. In the firebox, reduce heat loss by installing a reflective insert that burns gas, wood or wood pellets and delivers the heat back into the house. Remember to close the damper when the fireplace is not in use. If you never use the fireplace, consider an inflatable chimney plug, which blocks air flow within the chimney when the damper at the top of the flue is broken or ineffective. Close and weatherstrip the door or screen in front of the firebox. Special fire-stop sealants are available for sealing around the firebox and hearth.
Single-pane windows are a major source of heat loss in homes during the winter. Unfortunately, replacing them with double-pane windows is a very expensive proposition that may take decades to pay back the investment. Fortunately, much more affordable options are available.
Consider adding storm windows to the exterior of your windows, which have a similar impact as replacement windows but at a third of the cost.
An even cheaper alternative is to install a shrink kit on the interior of the window. This kit involves covering the window with a sheet of plastic, adhering it to the window frame, and using a hair dryer to shrink it and make it tight. When spring arrives, simply remove the plastic.
It may be improperly insulated if you can feel a draft around the edges of your windows. Pull off the window casing and fill the gap around the window jamb with expanding foam or fiberglass insulation. If you can’t remove the window’s casing, caulk around the inside and outside edges where it meets the jamb and the wall.
If air flows between the sash and the sill, add adhesive weather stripping. If air comes in through a gap between the two sashes, press some caulking cord into the gap, then remove it when spring arrives and it’s time to open the windows.
The exterior doors on your home also serve as an entry point for cold air in the wintertime. Add a draft guard to block the flow of air from under the door. You can buy a dedicated draft guard or create a makeshift one using an old towel.
Next, check the weather stripping around your door and replace it if it’s worn out or damaged. For an added layer of protection, add stop-mounted guards to the molding around the door frame to create an airtight seal around the door.
Even if your exterior walls are uninsulated, you can make a big difference by sealing a few common leaks.
There’s typically a gap of as much as an inch between your walls and the floor, creating a place for air to flow through, creating drafts. The baseboards cover these gaps but will only stop air flow if they are properly caulked. Seal any gaps around the baseboards using a caulk gun to reestablish that airtight seal.
Outlets and light switches are also common places where cold air can enter your home. To prevent drafts, you can insulate them by purchasing pre-cut fire retardant foam gaskets that fit behind the outlet and switch plates.
Finally, Seal wall penetrations routed to the outside—pipes, dryer vent ducts, cable, and phone lines—with caulk or spray foam both inside and out.
Tony Carrick is a full-time freelance writer who specializes in technology, home improvement, DIY, home security, and outdoor recreation. He’s tested and written about everything from home security systems to power tools to gas grills. His product guides, how-to articles, and feature stories can be found in such publications as Bob Vila, Angi, U.S. News and World Report, Field & Stream, Futurism, and Switchful. When Tony isn’t writing, he can be found working on his latest home improvement effort at his home in North Carolina.
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