October 30, 2019
Fall is the time of year when we celebrate the changing seasons, sip hot cider, and enjoy the colorful foliage. It’s also a great time to tidy up around the house and make sure you’ve weatherized your home for winter. Some of these tasks can be done in an afternoon. Others can be bigger projects, but with much larger reward.
From resealing your window frames and closing storm windows to home energy assessments and basement insulation upgrades, let’s take a look at some of the many options available to New Hampshire homeowners, as well as which ones are likelier to make the biggest improvement in your home comfort.
Some of the Small Things You Can Do to Weatherize Your Home
Cover Your Air Conditioner
Removing your window air conditioner unit every fall and reinstalling it in the spring can be difficult. If you do decide to keep your window unit in place, cover it on the outside and inside, and make sure the gap between the window sashes where they meet is sealed.. These covers can be found at your local hardware or retail store, and can help prevent cold air and drafts from entering your home through the unit or around the edges, and pipe insulation makes a good solution to plug the space between the sashes.
Weatherproof Your Doors and Windows
Installing high quality weatherstripping on your doors and installing interior heat shrink window plastic on very leaky windows along with putting down storm windows can help create a seal that will block air leaks and keep winter heating costs down. Foam tape, caulk, and window/door gaskets are all easily installed and will cut down on cold temperatures making their way into your home.
Block Electrical Outlet Drafts
Insulation is cut out around electrical outlets in your walls, and thin plastic outlet covers don’t offer much protection from the elements outside of your home’s thermal boundary. Inexpensive thin foam outlet covers block drafts around your outlets and offers one less way for the cold to get in.
How to Make the Biggest Difference in Your Home This Winter
The three ideas above are all useful tips that are easy for any homeowner to undertake. However, these tips are small improvements, not major ones, and if your home isn’t well sealed and insulated to begin with, you’re not going to see dramatic changes in your home comfort. In fact, if your home is like most homes with high heating and cooling costs and comfort issues, you are in a sense already paying for your improvements thru high bills but not capturing the savings or benefits. What I mean is that have energy improvements installed with legitimate savings through a seasoned professional with pay for itself rapidly and then your home is making you money via the $$ your not giving to your fuel supplier anymore, all while you reap the benefit of a more comfortable house.
How do you know if your home needs upgraded insulation and air sealing, and if so, where? A professional home energy audit is a great place to start.
Schedule a Home Energy Audit
Home energy audits include a detailed inspection and series of tests to determine your home performance. They may include infrared camera thermal imaging and blower door tests, which will both help an energy auditor pinpoint exactly where heat continues to enter and exit your home. This information, in turn, will offer concrete evidence as to where new insulation and air sealing work should be targeted.
How Insulation and Air Sealing Will Make Your Winter More Comfortable
Once you have the results of your home energy audit, the next step is to make a decision as to what home improvements you’ll be moving forward with. As a leading experienced home insulation and building science contractor in southern New Hampshire, A Plus Energy Services is able to tackle a number of different insulation jobs, including:
Attic Insulation
Crawlspace and Basement Insulation
Wall Insulation
Air sealing is also a very important part of a comfortable and energy efficient home. While insulation is very effective against heat transfer, it’s poor at blocking air flow. Air sealing prevents air leaks through cracks and gaps in your home, and makes insulation much more useful in the process. An experienced company with proven results can make a Huge difference knowing how and where to find and seal the hidden leaks in your home that are most important to comfort and reduced utility costs.
Call A Plus For a Warmer Winter Indoors
When it comes to air sealing and upgrading their insulation, New Hampshire homeowners can turn to A Plus Energy Services. For more than 20 years, we’ve been helping lower heating bills with energy saving services like insulation installation and air sealing using our own in house professionals. No matter the type of insulation, from spray foam to loose fill cellulose insulation, A Plus can help increase your home comfort this winter.