Keep the 'brrr' at bay

Plug air leaks to save on heating bills

By Journal staff and wire service reports | Tuesday, October 07, 2008

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The icy days of winter are coming, and there’s a lot you can do to save on your heating bills, besides wearing an extra sweater or two.

One easy step is to buy a programmable thermostat for as little as $40. It will automatically lower your home’s temperature when you’re away or asleep.

But if you’re looking for more savings, especially considering soaring fuel prices, you’ll have to embark on a more complex task: seeking out and plugging air leaks. Doing so can reduce heating costs by up to 20 percent, according to the Washington-based Alliance to Save Energy.

Heating bills this winter could be piggy-bank breakers, particularly for low-income households in colder parts of the country. Households who use heating oil for fuel are projected to be hit hardest.

Those families will pay about 36 percent more than last year, averaging about $2,600 for the winter, according to federal government forecasts.

Those using natural gas — the most common heating fuel at more than 50 percent of U.S. households — are projected to spend about $1,060 on average during the winter months, up 24 percent from last year.

“There’s going to be real sticker shock this coming winter,” said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association, which represents state-run low income energy assistance programs.

If you know where your leaks are, handy homeowners can do much of the work by themselves — using foam and caulking to seal up gaps and cracks, putting weather stripping on windows and doors, and insulating pipes and ductwork.

Rod Bradford, assistant manager at Menard’s in Rapid City, suggests that consumers weatherproof big patio doors, garage doors and entrance doors, checking for cracked or broken gaskets.

The federal government’s Energy Star program recommends that consumers plug the biggest holes first, in spaces where interior and exterior walls meet the attic floor.

Here are some other tips:

Heating

Changing your furnace filter isn’t difficult or expensive, and it makes good sense. However, there are furnace service and maintenance issues that, if left unchecked, can prove far more costly.

Bradford recommends checking furnace filters every two months, before they get dirty.

Also, be aware that the biggest single energy culprit in a central heating system could be something as simple as a duct leak. Leaky ducting can spew hundreds of dollars worth of heat (or air conditioning) into your attic or crawl space.

Is your basement overheating? It could be a leaking duct. You can hire a heating contractor to test your system, but first search out leaks yourself.

If ducting is insulated, and it should be, then pull back the insulation at locations that appear to be junctions, or where ducting is bent or dented.

Once you have done all you can to ensure that you have no leaks, have a heating contractor come in and perform a pressure test.

Insulating heat ducts

Duct insulation is actually a pretty recent code requirement. You may well have ducting that is well-sealed, but if it isn’t properly insulated, you will pay more for your heating than does your neighbor who has taken the time to insulate.

One-inch-thick duct insulation is sold in 1-foot-wide rolls, and is easy to install. All you need to do is wrap and overlap: While wrapping the insulation around your ducting, just make sure it overlaps an inch or two. When you get to the end, lace a nail through the last overlap to hold the insulation in place.

Pruning trees

A deciduous tree is the most energy-efficient type. In the winter, it loses its leaves and lets the sun’s warmth help heat your home. During the summer, its leaves shade and cool your home. All you have to do to ensure years of protection is keep your trees fed, watered and pruned.

Feeding and watering is pretty easy, but pruning can be a back breaker and, if improperly performed, can damage or even kill a tree. Pruning in the winter is a “no-no.” Pruning creates “open wounds.” Don’t expose your tree to frost damage by cutting and hacking when chilly weather is expected.

Also, pruning cuts should be made at a 90-degree angle to the branch. Cutting at other than 90 degrees exposes more of the “wound” than necessary.

Leaks of all kinds

Home maintenance Web sites abound with tips on sealing and caulking, the use of expandable foam, and how to check and replace weather stripping at doors and windows. Unfortunately, the list of items is so long that most of us don’t take the time to get half of it done.

Here’s the list:

Caulk all exterior doors and windows where the exterior siding meets the trim and where the trim meets the window frame.

Caulk all joints and gaps in exterior siding and trim, and where the siding meets the foundation.

Weather strip all windows and doors. For windows, be sure to remove the moving section first, so that the weather stripping is fully accessible. For doors be sure to check the bottom. Hold a flashlight at the bottom of the door at night. If you can see the light from the inside the weather stripping needs adjustment or replacement.

Seal plug and switch covers at all walls, both exterior and interior. For 25 cents a piece, you can radically reduce air infiltration.

If you have an older home, remove interior door and window trim and fill the gap between the window or door frame and the house frame with expanding foam sealant. Caulking alone on the outside will not do the trick.

Use expanding foam sealant to fill penetrations in exterior siding, the crawl space, the basement, the attic and inside kitchen and bath cabinets. 

Finish fall chores before the snow flies

By Jomay Steen

Journal staff

Rod Bradford, assistant manager at Menard’s, offers a short list of chores for homeowners before those cold winter winds blow into town.

Stain the deck to add longevity to it and beauty to the home, but make sure the weather is above 55 degrees for a full 24 hours for the paint to cure and dry.

Weatherproof big patio doors, garage doors and entrance doors, checking for cracked or broken gaskets.

Weatherproof windows using insulation kits.

Change furnace air filters to ensure they’re working efficiently. It’s a good thing to check every two months before filters get dirty.

Install leaf protectors in rain gutters.

Once leaves begin to fall, clean out leaves and debris from rain gutters.

Replace any cracked or broken windows.

Check bathroom or kitchen fans to make sure they work.

Get cracks in driveway and sidewalk repaired.

Start stocking up on wood pellets.