Ah, fall – time to start worrying again about those air leaks that make your home drafty during the winter. If you want to save some money this cold season, weatherproofing and tightening your home is an easy and inexpensive way to help cut down on heating costs. Here’s a little science experiment you can use to find the most problematic air leaks and seal them now before it gets much cooler (care of the Minnesota Department of Commerce Home Energy Guides):
If you have incense, you can use a lit stick of that, or a piece of thread to detect air leaks. Hold the incense or thread near windows, doors, vents, outlets and any other place that an air leak could conceivably be causing you some issues. When the smoke or thread moves with air currents, you have a leak! Mark that place with chalk and make a note to improve the weatherstripping there.
For leaky windows, you can’t beat the efficacy and price of plastic insulation. This temporary fix needs only scissors and a hair dryer for installation and can be easily removed when the summer finally returns. And it really works! For outlets, you can buy foam insulation for under $3 that can significantly cut down on air leakage. Check out the DOC’s guides for more information.
