The onset of winter means falling temperatures, with furnaces starting to kick on for the first time in months. But what happens when that furnace keeps grinding away, burning precious energy, without making your home warm?
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The culprit might be the little gaps and holes around your windows and doors, letting drafts of freezing cold air inside.
A drafty house is incredibly uncomfortable. Even if the drafts are just in one or two rooms, that can cause dramatic temperature swings as you move through your home. But it can also cost you money, as your furnace uses more energy than it should to get the same (or worse) results.
Fortunately, there are ways to prevent this problem. Weatherstripping can seal up those gaps and ensure your furnace or heat pump isn't trying to heat up the whole neighborhood. Here's what you need to know about making sure your home is snug this winter.
The term weatherstripping is both a verb and a noun. First, weatherstripping is the action of adding insulating material around doors and windows, with the goal of stopping airflow in and out of your home. But it's also the name for the materials used in the weatherstripping process. To use both terms together: You could weatherstrip a drafty window with metal weather stripping.
Weatherstripping is popular with budget-conscious homeowners, largely because it's a cheap home improvement task that can be done without a professional. After a quick trip to your local hardware store, you can properly weatherstrip your home in a few hours or less.
From doors to windows to attic hatches, there are plenty of ways to use weather stripping at home. Each area that you weatherstrip will have a slightly different process, which we'll cover below. However, there are a few basic rules to follow before you get started.
First, you'll want to know where air is escaping or entering your home. To do this, choose an exterior door or window and put your hand up near the frame. If you feel air blowing, there's leakage occurring and you should weatherstrip that area. Not sure if you're feeling air? Light a candle, hold it near the door or window frame and see if it flickers. If it does, it's time to weatherstrip. For a more high-tech solution, you can use a thermal camera.
When you're ready to start weatherstripping a particular area, clean it with soap and water, and then let it dry completely. Weather stripping doesn't stick well to dirty surfaces and is likely to come loose over time.
With that out of the way, let's look at three ways to use weather stripping around your home to seal up drafts and potentially reduce your utility bills.
If you're new to weatherstripping, a great place to start is with your home's exterior doors. Sealing up the space between the floor and the bottom of your door effectively keeps wind and rain out and ensures that your home stays comfortable.
Vinyl, rubber and metal are among the best types of weather stripping for doors. Many retailers sell door sweeps or gaskets, which screw into the bottom of your door and create a barrier to keep the elements (and pests) outside. Try to avoid using flimsier materials (like felt) in this area, because they can wear down faster with repeated opening and closings.
You may also want to prevent air from leaking out the top and sides of your door frame. In that case, you can nail or screw metal weather stripping along the edges of the frame.
Like exterior doors, windows are an ideal place to use weather stripping in your home. There are several ways to weatherstrip your windows, depending on the materials and style.
For example, let's say that you want to weatherstrip a wooden window that slides open vertically (such as a double-hung window). In that case, you'll want to attach the weather stripping in a few places, including on the lower sash and inside the window jambs.
For the sash, attach a piece of adhesive foam, tape or vinyl weather stripping along the bottom of the lower sash (where it meets the sill). It should create a tight seal when you close the window. Then, peel and stick V-channel (also known as V-strip or tension-seal) weather stripping along the tracks where the window slides before securing it with finishing nails.
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The process is simpler if you have casement windows, which sit on a hinge and need to be opened with a hand crank. To seal them, all you need to do is apply tape weather stripping to the top, bottom and sides of the window stops.
No matter which type of windows you have, make sure that you don't put weather stripping anywhere that it could come loose when you open or close the window.
Sealing your windows and doors stops indoor air from leaking out -- and outdoor air from leaking in.
Another way that air can leak in and out of your home is through uninsulated attics, basements and garages. Fortunately, weatherstripping the doors that lead to these areas can reduce energy loss and keep your living space more comfortable.
For attics, the weatherstripping process will depend on the type of entrance (for example, an access panel or pull-down stairs). Either way, the Department of Energy recommends installing wooden stops around the door and then applying tape weather stripping on top of the new stops, which will create a tight seal when you close the attic door.
Similarly, if you have an interior door that leads to your basement, you can seal it by placing peel-and-stick weather stripping around the frame. You'll also want to add a door sweep to keep drafts from sneaking in between the bottom of the door and the floor.
You can buy weather stripping in all its many shapes and forms from your local hardware store or national retail giant. You can explore your options at the following places.
Although these three areas are the most popular places to apply weather stripping, there are also other places where it can be useful -- like garage doors and skylights. Consider your home's needs and adjust accordingly to ensure a strong seal in the places that need extra insulation the most. Once you do, less of your home's heat and air conditioning will leak outside, and less air from outside will leak into your home.
Poor insulation or sealing of your home may make it harder for your furnace to heat your home up in the winter. First make sure your home is properly sealed with weatherstripping and other materials. You should also have your furnace inspected at least once a year by a professional to ensure it's working properly.
If your home is drafty, that may cause your furnace to be unable to reach the desired temperature. It could also mean some rooms are colder than others in the winter. If your home is colder than you expect in the winter, you should also consider the placement of your thermostat, which could be in direct sunlight or a warmer area, affecting its ability to assess the temperature. Some thermostats can work with external room sensors, which you can place anywhere, allowing you to adjust your heating and cooling based on the temperature in those rooms.
Are you interested in learning more about Weather Stripping? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!