The
NW Colorado Council of Governments offers weatherization assistance to
those who qualify. For more information,
click
here
Or call: 1-800-332-3669 x103
The Drama of Weatherization:
It's you Against the Elements!
Taking Charge of your Home's Energy Leaks
By Megan Moore-Kemp, Certified Sustainable
Building Advisor
Many of us don't think about weatherizing our homes until winter has wrapped itself tightly around our dwelling. When your guests once again refuse to remove their coats and your heating bills prevent you from dining out, it's time to address your home's energy leaks.
How high your energy bills are, or how cold your home is, is governed by how well your home performs in respect to the Laws of Thermodynamics: heat moves from warm to cold; air moves from areas of high pressure to low pressure; moisture moves from warm to cold and from more to less. These are the scientific concepts that will drive your weatherization tasks. Yet, to simplify-and with a flair for drama-I divide the work up into the following categories: AIR, WATER, and FIRE.
AIR
In the winter, without most of us realizing it, warm air is constantly
moving out of our homes. The locations of these air leaks are usually
surprising. The single most effective way to determine the quantity and
location of these leaks is by getting a Blower Door Test-a large fan that
mounts to an exterior door and measures how much air your home is losing
to the outside. Contact your local home energy rater or home energy consultant
to schedule this simple and affordable test. The cost is well worth it,
as it is the most effective diagnostic tool to inform your weatherization
tasks. In the meantime, however, there are many leaky locations in your
home you can seal up now.
- Outlets and Light Switches. Believe it or not these are leaky! Hardware stores sell inexpensive foam gaskets that install under the trim plate of electrical boxes.
- Ceiling penetrations. Any place you have a cutout in your sheetrock for a recessed light, exhaust fan, or heating supply, will leak warm air up to your roof-often causing snow to melt and create ice dams. Remove the trim from the light, fan or heat supply (usually you can just pull these down with your hands, but you may need a screw driver). Use a can of spray foam or caulking to seal the gap where the ceiling sheetrock meets the light housing, fan housing, or heating supply duct, and replace the trim.
- Floor Penetrations. If your home has a forced air heating system, it likely has lots of pesky leaks in the floor. These leaks are found in the gap where each heat supply duct penetrates the floor. Simply lift the trim piece up from the floor and seal (with caulk or foam) around where the floor meets the metal ductwork.
- Exterior Doors. Can you see daylight through the gaps in your door? If so, stop by your local hardware store and peruse the weatherization aisle. Here you will find weather stripping and thresholds to help you seal up this exit point for heat. Similarly, attic and crawlspace access doors often benefit from weather stripping. I've found the foam strips with one sticky side work well in this application. Pre-apply spray adhesive to help it stick even better.
- Windows. Lock all your windows; the added closure helps more than you would predict. If you have single pane windows, you can temporarily install weatherization film, but should plan on replacing these with double or triple pane.
- Seal Ductwork. If you have a forced air heating system, it is likely leaking an average of 30% of your heated air to the outside. Hire a contractor to perform a duct blast test and seal up leaky ducts with water-based mastic (not tape!) and save a bundle.
CAN I GET MY HOME TOO TIGHT?
A common concern in a homeowner's air-sealing efforts is that they are sealing it up “too tight,” and as a result trapping in moisture and toxins from off-gassing building materials. I maintain we can NEVER make a home too tight. We can, however, OVER TOXIFY and UNDER VENTILATE them. Remove and/or avoid building materials which have high levels of VOCs, off-gas, or are just plain stinky. (I find the sniff test very useful in choosing building materials.) Ventilation systems will introduce fresh air for better air quality. A blower door test will determine how tight your home is and whether or not you should install a ventilation system.
WATER
Along with air, water is another element we pay to heat up-often inefficiently. Many of our water system's energy losses can be solved with a simple look around. This could pay off in spades for, as we all know, neglect of water systems during winter has dire consequences.
- Insulate the Water Heater. Especially if it is in the garage, attic or crawlspace. And don't forget to wrap the water pipes that come out of the tank. Purchase an insulation blanket made just for this purpose at the hardware store.
- Peek at Your Pipes. Grab a flashlight and head to the crawlspace and attic. Follow your water line from start to finish, and make sure all water pipes are well wrapped in insulation.
- Attend to Your Irrigation. Blow out all lines well before the ground freezes.
- Protect the hose-bib. Cover exterior hose bibs that are not labeled as “anti-siphon” with a foam insulation cover.
FIRE
From our earliest days, combustion has been the means by which we warm ourselves. Now we strive not only to have efficient equipment to do this task, but also to live in homes that are equally efficient.
- Tune it up. Have your heating system tested, cleaned and tuned by your heating contractor.
- Insulate, Insulate, Insulate! Insulation is one of the weatherization products with which you will get a lot of bang for your buck. Check floor and ceiling insulation and make sure you have the maximum R-Value possible. You shouldn't have any insulation down on the ground or missing. Fluff compressed insulation back up to its prior shape. Be sure to insulate those crawlspace and attic access hatches as well!
- Insulate Ductwork. If you have a forced air heating system, make sure all duct work in your crawlspace and attic is completely wrapped in insulation.
- Foundation vents. Seal or close these for the winter, especially if you have water pipes under your house. Be sure, however, to open them back up in the spring.
This list in no way covers everything you can do to improve your home's energy performance. But it is a starting point; doing just one thing from this list will make a difference. The time you spend now to improve your home's interaction with the elements-via air leaks, water heating losses and heating system inefficiencies-will pay back in terms of comfort, lower energy bills, improved indoor air quality, and global environmental health.
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