Have a warmer winter with more money in your wallet

(ARA) - Winter’s chill is supposed to take place outdoors, but too often drafty attics, fireplaces, windows and open vents let cold air into your home. This wastes energy and can cost you big money in higher energy bills.  Drafts, such as those around doors, windows and pipes, are the largest source of heating and cooling loss in the home. Most homeowners are well aware of the benefits that caulk and weather-stripping provide to minimize energy loss and drafts. But what can you do about drafts from the four largest “holes” in your home- Here are some tips and techniques that can quickly, easily and inexpensively seal and insulate these holes:

Attic stairs
Often you can see a gap around the perimeter of the attic door. Try this yourself: at night, turn on the attic light and shut the attic stairway door – do you see any light coming through? If you do, heated and air-conditioned air is leaking out of these large gaps in your home 24-hours a day. An easy solution to this problem is to add an insulated attic stair cover.

Whole house fans and air conditioning vents
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a whole house fan shutter seal. Made from white textured flexible insulation, the shutter seal is installed over the ceiling shutter, secured with Velcro, and trimmed to fit. The shutter seal can also be used to seal and insulate air conditioning vents, and is easily removed when desired.

Fireplaces
Sixty-five percent, or over 100 million homes in North America are constructed with wood- or gas-burning fireplaces. Unfortunately one study has shown that an open damper on an unused fireplace in a well-insulated house can raise overall heating-energy consumption by 30 percent.  An easy, cost efficient solution to this problem is to add a Fireplace Plug to your fireplace.  The pillow is removed whenever the fireplace is used, then reinserted after.

Clothes dryer exhaust ducts
In many homes, the room with the clothes dryer is the coldest room in the house. Your clothes dryer is connected to an exhaust duct that is open to the outdoors. In the winter, cold drafts in through the duct, through your dryer and into your house.  An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a dryer vent seal. This will reduce unwanted drafts, and also keeps out pests, bees and rodents. The vent will remain closed unless the dryer is in use. When the dryer is in use, a floating shuttle rises to allow warm air, lint and moisture to escape.  Courtesy of ARAcontent