I’ll tell you a story about the other day when I went to a friend’s house. Their windows were so bad that the cold wind was literally making the blinds blow inward even with the windows closed. Yikes.
I mean you could literally feel the cold winter breeze blowing inside. I’m usually not an advocate for spending a lot of money on windows. However, I recently got new windows and I can tell you first hand it’s made a big difference in my own home.
What if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on windows right now, but you can feel the cold air? There are a lot of solutions to this problem that don’t involve you shelling out thousands of dollars.
It is said that a gap or or crack in the window as small as 1/8-inch — or on a 36-inch-wide door will let in as much cold air as a 2.4-inch-diameter hole punched in the wall. It is also said that the average homeowner spends on average of $649 for heating a home with natural gas from October through March. So here is the first tip to stop these annoying gaps from bringing down your energy efficiency.
Firstly, keep your blinds closed. This will not prevent all the cold air from coming in, but it will give the place between the window and your home a place for insulation and stop the cold from coming directly into the rest of the house. Before we got new windows, I would do this all last season and it seemed to help quite a bit.
Secondly, Place towels underneath blinds and doors to prevent drafts from coming into your house. This is extremely useful with the cold weather. The towels won’t stop everything from coming in, but it should stop some of the flow under the door and blinds.
Thirdly, a great solution I used to use in my own home can be found easily at the hardware store in the form of Plastic Insulators. These are large plastic pieces that fit over the window and they prevent the outside air from coming in. You stick them up, blow-dry them until they are taught and let them do the rest. We used to use these when we were watching a relative’s house and you could literally see the plastic stopping the wind from getting in. You just have to install them correctly and they work very well at keeping warm air in. The best part is that you can get these window kits at any Lowe’s or Home Depot. They cost anywhere from $25-$30 dollars a packet–sometimes $40-$50 with bigger windows. They last all winter and will take your energy consumption as well as energy bills down.
Forth, set your Programmable thermostat to just one degree lower and put on a jacket. 1% is the the amount of money you can shave off your heating bill for every degree you turn your thermostat down during the winter, according to the Department of Energy. The DOE estimates turning your thermostat back 10 to 15 degrees for 8 hours can save you 5% to 15% on heating costs.
Lastly, if you don’t want to finagle your house by using towels or plastic sheets to cover the windows, all of this can take some time, you can always consider new windows. Here at Conservation Construction we take home energy and electricity bills very seriously. That’s why we have the most energy efficient windows and doors on the market. We literally want you to see a difference on your next energy bill. Stop wasting energy and start saving money with our Energy Star rated products.
Our Windows Include:
- Platinum Elite Spacers which keep Gas fill in for 20+ years
- Argon Gas Fill
- Low-E Glass with 4 coated layers including protection from UV rays
- Easy Clean Coating which uses the power of the sun to dissolve off organic material.
- Foam Filled Edges
Our Doors Include:
- Strength and Durability
- Hundreds of styles and textures
- Fiberglass or Steel
- Custom Hardware
- Extreme Energy Efficient
In fact our Embarq Entry Door is the most energy efficient door on the market even winning Energy Star Partner of the year 2 years running.
This all equates to energy savings you can count on. If you are interested in our amazing windows or doors give us a call or go online today to set up your free estimate. Our products will give you a more stable room temperature all year round. You’ll get a comfort in your home you haven’t felt in years.
Thanks for reading and remember there are a ton of easy solutions to keep your house more energy efficient . . . towels, plastic covers, lowering the temperature and closing the blinds. See you next time.
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