Sunday, November 27, 2011

Tips To Reduce Your Energy Bills This Winter By Draught Proofing Your Apartment

By Carl Gibbs


We can all use advice in how to make our homes more affordable. Expenses of all types seem to be on the rise, especially when it comes to energy. Below, discover tips to reduce your energy bills this winter by draught proofing your home.

Don't just deal with the big problems, although these need the quickest attention, even a hole the size of a pin will have an effect on the energy consumption. Determining a leak is easy to do and requires only a stick of incense. It is highly recommended however, that the test is conducted on a windy day. Use the incense smoke as a guide as you run it along different areas of the home and see if the smoke is disturbed.

According to statistics, a 10% reduction in total heat loss will be enjoyed simply by sealing all the gaps. The task is not difficult and all the materials are easy to locate, mainly found in any hardware store at affordable prices.

Just imagine how much the savings will be over the course of a year and multiplied over the course of a decade. The numbers can be astounding. Therefore, it is well worth your while to put in the time and effort to fix these little problems.

Make sure to check the doors, windows, electrical outlets, plumbing connections to the wall as well as the dryer exhaust with the stick of incense. Additionally, do the same tests along the fireplace if this feature exists in the home. Surprisingly, it can lose anywhere between five to 8% of the energy.

To resolve this problem, make it an attractive seal by buying a 2 inch thick Styrofoam and cut it to size. Decorated with an attractive piece of fabric that is suitable to the decor of the room simply by attaching it with a staple gun. Then, simply fit it into the opening when it is not being used, being careful to ensure that this technique is only for wood burning fireplaces, not for gas. Another important it is to close the flue when it is not in operation and the fire is certainly extinguished.

Draught proofing your windows is very important because there is a lot of heat loss occurring here in most cases. This is usually a bigger job but it is well worth it because your home will be much more comfortable once it's done. A quick tip is to use heavy fabric window treatments, thick roller blinds or vertical blinds.




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