The original natural family living magazine, founded in 1976. Natural Life is
trusted by readers around the world who want to learn how to create a green,
healthy, frugal, self-reliant lifestyle for themselves and for their families.
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from Natural Life Magazine,
November/December 2003 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 openings 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 weatherstripping. Caulking and weatherstripping are both perfect candidates for do-it-yourself jobs. A thorough air sealing job can save 15 percent on your heating bill. Caulk and weatherstrip doors and windows that
leak air. Caulk and seal air leaks where plumbing, ducting or electrical wiring
penetrates through exterior walls, floors, ceilings and soffits over cabinets.
Install rubber gaskets behind outlet and switch plates on exterior walls. Install storm windows over single-pane windows or replace them with double-pane windows. Storm windows as much as double the R-value of single-pane windows and they can help reduce drafts, water condensation and frost formation. As a less costly but aesthetically less pleasing alternative, you can use a heavy-duty, clear plastic sheet on a frame or tape clear plastic film to the inside of your window frames during the cold winter months. Your home’s duct system, a branching network of ducting in the walls, floors and ceilings, carries the air from your home’s furnace to each room. Unfortunately, many duct systems are poorly sealed and not insulated. Ducts that leak heated air into unheated spaces can add hundreds of dollars a year to your heating and cooling bills. Sealing your ducts to prevent leaks is even more important if the ducts are located in an unheated area like an attic or vented crawl space. If the supply ducts are leaking, heated or cooled air can be forced out unsealed joints and lost. In addition, unheated air can also be drawn into return ducts through unsealed joints. Look for sections of duct that should be joined but have separated. Then look for obvious holes. If you use duct tape to repair and seal your ducts, look for tape with the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) logo to avoid tape that degrades, cracks and loses its bond with age. If your home has a fireplace, keep the flue damper tightly closed when it is not in use. A chimney is designed specifically for smoke to escape, so until you close it, warm air escapes – 24 hours a day! Better yet, fit your fireplace with tightly fitting glass doors. Have a heating contractor do a maintenance check every year or two to make sure your furnace is operating at peak efficiency. Keep the furnace filter clean. Replace it yourself every one to two months during the heating season. A dirty filter reduces the air flow to the furnace and makes it run longer. Turn down the thermostat when you’re away from home or while you’re asleep. A programmable thermostat won’t let you forget to lower the temperature at night. Simply by setting your thermostat lower by four degrees at night, you can save up to $60 on a $1,500 heating bill. |
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