With temperatures dipping in many parts of the country, people are probably bracing for their utility bills to climb as they crank up the heat in their homes.
Experts say a drafty building can be one of the main reasons it costs more to keep your home comfortable during the winter. While major energy savings will come from upgrading windows and doors, improving insulation and ambitious retrofits to replace outdated HVAC systems and ducts, there are simple steps you can take to plug up the leaks in your home.
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Buildings lose a significant amount of energy from air traveling in or out through cracks in walls, poorly sealed or underperforming windows and doors, and aging caulking, said John Fernandez, director of the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative. Depending on what you do, sealing up your home, which can be accomplished with do-it-yourself projects, could result in energy savings of 5 to 20 percent, according to the Energy Department.
“The absolute smartest, greatest return on investment, easiest, least expensive way to lower your energy cost is to make sure that the exterior wall of your house or your residence or your office building is performing as well as it possibly can,” Fernandez said.
Assess your home
Before tackling any projects, experts recommend starting with some level of home assessment.
The easiest first step is a visual inspection, Fernandez said. You can look for cracks, holes or spaces in the walls and gaps around doors or windows where air can move in or out. You can also find leaks by turning on your kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans, creating a slight pressure differential between indoors and outdoors, then holding up a lit incense stick to potential problem areas, The Washington Post’s Sarah Kaplan previously reported. If the smoke wavers or blows in one direction, there could be a draft that needs to be addressed.
But if you’re unsure of what to look for or want a more detailed review of your home, experts recommend bringing in a professional. A $150 tax credit can be used for an energy audit, said Carlos Martin, a researcher at the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. Many utilities will also provide the service free.
Plugging the leaks
Ensuring your home is tightly sealed is one approach to shielding buildings from outside elements – a process known as weatherization, said Rohini Srivastava, a senior researcher in the buildings program at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
“You can think about weatherization as a protective layer around your house, which helps make you comfortable inside the home or building,” Srivastava said.
Weatherstripping and caulking are two of the most effective and simple air-sealing techniques that can be used to reduce the amount of air that leaks in and out of your home, according to the Energy Department. The agency estimates that weatherstripping can result in energy savings of 5 to 10 percent, while caulking could save 10 to 20 percent.
Use weatherstripping for cracks around structural elements of your home that move, such as doors and operable windows. The Energy Department recommends choosing a type of weatherstripping that will withstand the friction, weather, temperature changes, and wear and tear associated with where you’re applying the material.
If you’re trying to plug small gaps in parts of your home that don’t move, caulking is the recommended approach. The Energy Department provides step-by-step online guides for caulking and weatherstripping projects.
While experts note that a significant amount of household heating and cooling – 25 to 30 percent, according to the Energy Department – can be lost through windows, some cautioned against addressing the problem with quick fixes, such as films or other glass treatments.
“It’s not going to hurt, but it’s not going to be particularly helpful for you, so I wouldn’t waste the money on that,” Martin said. “I would just as soon invest in a really good curtain.”
Next steps
Keep in mind that while these small repairs can be effective, it’s important to consider investing in bigger home improvement projects, such as upgrading insulation, replacing old doors and windows, and installing more efficient HVAC systems or heat pumps, Martin said. These investments, many of which are or could become eligible for tax credits and rebates, will also provide energy-saving benefits during hotter months, he added.
But tackling simple weatherization tasks is “absolutely the first step to take before you do anything else,” Fernandez said.
“The last thing you want to do is have a really high-efficiency, low-carbon system that’s just pumping heat or air conditioning into a building that’s just leaking,” he said.
Sarah Kaplan contributed to this report.
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