Is Your Home Ready for Winter?

County Agent News

Dan Folske

November 14, 2011

Is Your Home Ready For Winter?

            Winter heating costs can be a huge budget breaker. Winterizing your home and improving your energy efficiency can provide quick returns on your investment and make your home more comfortable at the same time.

            Making your older home extremely energy efficient could be expensive but there are many things you can do that are relatively inexpensive. If your windows leak a lot of air replacing them with new windows can make a huge difference on your energy bill but can be expensive. Less expensive alternatives are using shrinkable plastic to seal the windows and using heavy or insulated curtains. If you seem to get a lot of cold are around the window frame it may be possible to remove the wood molding and insulate between the window and the framing. Aerosol cans of expanding foam are perfect for that type of application.

            The “miracle” electric heaters you see and hear advertised to reduce your heat bill up to 80% are not really a miracle and will not reduce your heating bill by 80% unless you are making many other changes.  Because electricity is cheap in our area compared to propane and heating oil, you can save some dollars simply because you are buying a cheaper form of energy. These expensive electric heaters may look like nice furniture but are not more efficient than other electric space heaters which cost far less. They may be somewhat safer than very cheap electric heaters and are not hot to the touch which is a big plus if you have small children. However, there are many electric heaters available from local hardware stores or the big box stores that offer the same features for far less than the $300 to $500 I see the “miracle” heaters advertised for. If you carefully read the fine print of their advertising you will find that the largest portion of the advertised savings comes from closing off rooms of a house and only heating one or two rooms. That can be done with most heating systems by closing vents, lowering zone thermostats, or partially closing valves on radiators. If you chose to use portable electric space heaters of any brand or type make sure you are not overloading your electrical circuits. Do not use extension cords unless absolutely necessary and then make sure they are large enough to carry the load. Overloaded extension cords are a major cause of household fires!

            If you choose to use combustion type portable heaters (propane or kerosene) make sure you follow the manufactures instructions relating to ventilation. If you are using this type of heater I would suggest installing a carbon monoxide detector as a priority. They are a good safety device for any home but are essential for these portable heaters.

            Programmable thermostats are another great energy saver particularly if no one is home during the day. Presetting your thermostat to lower temperatures for nighttime sleeping ad daytime absences can have a significant impact on your energy bill.

            For more information about saving energy check out NDSU Extension Bulletin AE-1442 Top Ten Home Energy Checklist: “How much energy is my home wasting?”

http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ageng/structu/ae1442.pdf