Weatherization

• Make sure your home is properly weatherized. First, test your home for air tightness. On a windy day, hold a lit incense stick next to your windows, doors, electrical boxes, plumbing fixtures, electrical outlets, ceiling fixtures, attic hatches, and other locations where there is a possible air path to the outside. If the smoke stream travels horizontally, you have located an air leak that may need caulking, sealing, or weather stripping.

• Eliminate all unnecessary leaks. One way to do that is to caulk and weather strip doors and windows that leak air.

• Install rubber gaskets behind outlets and switch plates on exterior walls.

• It’s especially important that your ceilings, walls and floors should be adequately insulated. Insulation is rated by R-value — the higher the R-value, the more effective the insulation. At a minimum, your ceiling should be insulated to R-30, your walls to R-11 and your floors to R-19. Some types of attic insulation settle over time or may be unevenly distributed and need to be upgraded to achieve at least R-30.

• Look for dirty spots in your insulation, which often indicate holes where air leaks into and out of your house. You can seal holes by stapling sheets of plastic over the holes and caulking the edges of the plastic.

• When the fireplace is not in use, keep the flue damper tightly closed. A chimney is designed specifically for smoke to escape, so until you close it, warm air escapes – 24 hours a day!

• If you’re thinking of getting new windows, consider installing double-paned windows. They insulate as effectively as an inch of foam insulation and shade as well as tinted windows, yet they look clear.