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Old Man Winter
How to Prepare Your Home for Cold Weather By Mark Stackpole
Has Jack Frost been doing a little extra nipping on your nose lately? Perhaps Old Man Winter has already overstayed his welcome. For kids, cold weather means sled rides and hot chocolate, with the promise of a snow day or two lingering in the chilly air. For adults, it more often means high heating bills and digging the car out of a snowdrift to get to work on time. With those heating bills at an all-time high, how can a family have fun, stay warm and afford to keep the lights on and the heater running?
Lipford, also the long-time home improvement expert for CBS's The Early Show and The Weather Channel, recommends a few simple steps to stay warm and save both energy and money. "The single most effective way to save on heating is increasing attic insulation," he says. The type of insulation doesn't matter too much, though rolling out fiberglass batts is the easiest way to do it. Just make sure that they are unfaced so as not to trap moisture that migrates up from the living space below.
One of the biggest enemies of home heating is the chimney effect, whereby cold air is drawn from near the bottom of the house and replaces the air you have been paying to heat, which rises into the attic. "The most effective way to put a damper on this is to seal all openings in the floor of the attic (which is the ceiling of the upper floor of your home)," Lipford says. Use expanding foam anywhere the attic floor is penetrated by electrical work, chimneys, flue pipes, plumbing vents or vent fans.
the perimeter if you see any light, weather stripping may help. Lipford also recommends the use of a door sweep to block drafts, and using caulk to seal any cracks around windows and hose bibs. Once the home is properly checked and sealed tight, use a programmable thermostat turning it down can save 10 to 15 percent of your bill annually. "A lot of the rest is just doing what your mother kept reminding you to do: When not in the room, turn off the lights and the television; say goodbye to your guests before you open the door so you don't let lots of heat escape while telling them how much you appreciate them visiting; and remind your kids to close the door after them and the dog," Lipford says.