You may wish to tackle some of these energy saving tips yourself. Most of the tools required are simple ones you probably already have around the house. Air sealing the house doesn’t require extensive knowledge or building experience. Most of this is common sense. If you do decide to do it yourself, you’ll realize considerable savings in doing so.

You may also wish to hire a contractor or handy-man to do the job. Nothing wrong with that either. The “do-it-yourself” approach doesn’t appeal to everyone. If you do hire a contractor you’ll go forearmed knowing exactly what has to be done, and whether the person you hire is doing a good job.

Having said that, some jobs are best left to professionals.

Foam insulation, for example, requires specialized equipment. Excavating the foundation of your house, if needed, isn’t everyone’s idea of a relaxing weekend. Simply use good judgment.

In any event, at this point you already know where the most serious problems are, and where you need to concentrate your time and money.

Refer back to the worksheet from the last lesson. Pay special attention to the severity ratings. The higher the rating, the more important it is to get that aspect done. I’m willing to bet, most of the severe items are ones you can do yourself. Save the tough and/or professional jobs for later when time and money permit.

Sealing most air leaks isn’t going to require a professional. Most of the time you can do a very credible job with caulking and weather stripping.

What You Can Do Starting Today

Planning:

• Using the worksheets you complied last week, decide which jobs are “do-able” and which jobs should be contracted out.
• Building Codes: Depending on how extensive the work is that needs to be done, you may want to consult with your local building official. I know, I know, lots of horror stories abound. The truth is, they are free resource of information and techniques you shouldn’t overlook. They can provide guidance on technical issues as well as dependable, local people to do the job.
• Safety: Don’t be an idiot. Climbing around on ladders, working around insulation in attics with no flooring or footing is dangerous. You’ll step through the ceiling, and maybe into the ground floor in a heartbeat.
• Use basic safety equipment, steel –toed shoes, dust masks, work gloves, eye protection if needed. Make sure you have more than adequate light, especially when working in the attic, or around the sills in the basement.

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Stopping Air Leaks Once and For all:

Now that we know where the air leaks are, we’re going to start the business of sealing the most common ones

• Plumbing penetrations through floors and ceilings
• Chimney penetrations through floors and ceilings
• Fireplace dampers
• Attic access hatches Recessed lights and fans
• Wiring penetrations through floors, ceilings, walls
• Electrical outlets and switches on exterior walls
• Window, door, and baseboard moldings

Caulking:

This energy saving tip is done with an inexpensive “gun” and a tube of sealant. Just about any home improvement store, Wal-Mart, even a lot of supermarkets, will carry them.

There are literally hundreds of caulking material available. Discuss with the salespeople the best for your project, or simply read the various information available about each.

Avoid the temptation to purchase cheap, poor-quality caulking material. It won’t last, goes on badly, and you’ll have wasted your time and money. White silicone works well in most situations.

• Use high temperature silicone on areas around the chimney or hot water heater flue.

• Never caulk in cold weather. Caulking should be applied in as close to room temperature as possible.

Identify the areas to be caulked and determine correct sealant for the job.

• If it is behind baseboards, ceiling moldings, door or window frames, then…
• Using a pry-bar, gently pry these off the wall, careful not to splinter them, and set them aside in a safe place.
• Clean any areas behind the moldings.
• Large cracks or holes greater than ¼” should be filled with oakum or foam rope.
• Cut the nozzle of the sealant tube just large enough to overlap the crack.
• Pull the caulking gun at right angles to the crack, evenly sealing the entire crack.
• The finished “bead” should be smooth and clean.
• You can finish the bead, if needed by smoothing the bead with your finger.

• If necessary stuff larger holes with oakum and seal around those.
• Pay special attention to the area where the sill meets the foundation and house. This area may require insulation, oakum, or sealant. It’s very important to seal this area up tight.

Caulk behind the baseboard, the ceiling moldings, around the windows and doors.

Take it one room at a time. No reason to rush through this job. If you have 10 rooms in your house and it takes 10 weeks to do a good job, it is time and money very well spent.

Windows:

• Using a pry-bar, gently pry the window molding away from the window.
• Take out any nails, and set window casing to one side.
• Using foam sealant or oakum, fill in any spaces around the window or wall framing.
• Apply caulking to any areas less than ¼” inch.
• Allow to dry, and replace window casing.

Don’t forget on a sunny day to also seal the outside of the windows as well. Use an outside sealant for this job.

Doors:

You also need to repeat this procedure on the inside of any doors as well. It’s not necessary to do this however on any interior doors leading into other rooms. I’m talking about sealing any doors leading to the exterior of the house.

Sealing Outside Doors: All four edges around a door can permit air to leak in and out of your house. In fact, the average door has more gaps than a loose-fitting window. Doors, moreover, don't run in grooves as windows do, so any crack area around a door is likely to be far greater than the area around a window. Weather stripping your doors can seal those gaps, get rid of drafts, and help to reduce your heating and cooling bills

The easiest method of weather stripping doors is to use adhesive backed foam.

To install pressure-sensitive foam weather stripping around doors:

Select warm day to work, if possible. Adhesive forms a better bond if applied when temperature is at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

Clean surface where weather stripping is to be attached with detergent and water. Make sure no dirt or grease remains. If pressure-sensitive weather stripping had been previously installed, use petroleum jelly to remove any old adhesive. Dry surface with rags.

Use scissors to cut strip to fit, but don't remove backing paper yet.

Starting at one end, slowly peel paper backing as you push sticky foam strips into place. If backing proves stubborn at beginning, stretch foam until seal between backing and foam breaks.

Attach strips on hinge side to doorjamb.

Attach other two strips to doorstop. If corner of door catches weather stripping as you close it, trim top piece of foam on hinge side. Serrated-metal weather stripping, usually with a felt-strip insert running the length of the serrated groove, also can be used to seal air gaps around doors. To install this type of weather stripping, measure the length of strips required, and then use tin snips or heavy-duty scissors to cut the serrated-metal material to the proper lengths. Nail each strip at both ends, add a nail to the center of each strip, and drive additional nails every 2 to 3 inches along the rest of the strip.

Creating a weather tight threshold:

The gap at the bottom of the door is treated differently from the gaps on the sides and along the top. The wood or metal hump on the floor along the bottom of the door is called the threshold.

Many of the metal types feature a flexible vinyl insert that creates a tight seal when the door closes against it. Other thresholds consist of one unit on the floor and a mating piece on the bottom of the door. These two pieces interlock to form a weather tight barrier.

In most cases, the threshold with a flexible vinyl insert is the easiest to install. Interlock systems are quite effective when properly installed, but they require a perfect fit or they will not work satisfactorily.

Wooden thresholds often wear down to the point where they must be replaced. This is an easy installation, and there are many types of replacement thresholds from which to choose. Most are aluminum and come in standard door widths; however, if your door is not standard width, you can trim the aluminum threshold with a hacksaw. Here's how to install a replacement threshold:

Remove old threshold. If it is wood, there are two ways to remove it. In most cases, you can pry it up after removing doorstops with small flat pry bar or putty knife, but you must work carefully and slowly. If jamb itself rests on threshold, saw through old threshold at each end.

Use backsaw placed right against jamb, and saw down through threshold, being careful not to scar floor. Once you make cuts, threshold should be easy to pry up. If prying doesn't work, use chisel and hammer to split piece. Metal thresholds are frequently held down by screws concealed under vinyl inserts. Once you remove screws, threshold will come up easily.

Install replacement threshold by driving screws through metal unit and into floor. If you don't want aluminum threshold, cut replacement from wood, using original one as pattern.

Install door sweep to seal gap. Most sweeps are attached to inside of door with nails or screws. Cut sweep to size, and close door. Tack both ends of sweep to door, then install remaining nails or screws. If you are using screws, drill pilot holes first.

Air Sealing Electrical Outlets

Foam gaskets are designed to fit behind the cover plates of electrical receptacles, switches and lighting mounts, reducing air leakage into walls and attics.

Electrical outlet gaskets are more effective when caulked and should be used in conjunction with child-safety plugs to reduce air leakage through electrical sockets.

These can be easily and inexpensively found in almost all home improvement stores.

Simply unscrew the outlet plate from the wall, add the foam backing and replace the face plate. Screw tightly to the foam underneath.

As an added measure you can also use clear sealant and seal around the edges of the face plate insuring a tight, air sealed, receptacle.

If you follow these energy saving tips the inside of your house will be air sealed.In the next lesson we'll tackle the basement and save even more money.​

Step one: Energy Assessment

You can easily conduct this yourself in a couple of hours. You can, of course, spend a few hundred and hire a professional to do it for you as well. The choice is yours. I’ll assume you’re interested in saving money, doing it yourself and putting that money saved towards other aspects off grid living.

Air Leakage:

Air leakage and getting it under control is the single most important thing you can do when upgrading your home. Controlling air leakage has many benefits…

· Insulation efficiency is increased, and you get full value from the insulation already added to your home.

· Heating/cooling costs can be drastically reduced as the infiltration of hot/cold air is reduced.

· Comfort and overall enjoyment in your house increases as drafts and cold spots are eliminated

· Humidity and condensation levels can be more effectively controlled.

Where to start:

We need to check the general overall condition of the house and test areas that you suspect need more consideration.

Tools you’ll need:

· An incense stick

Locating Air Leaks…

It’s said that the average house has enough air leakage to amount to a 3 square foot hole in the wall.

Right now, your heating and/or air conditioning is blasting away at full steam working hard to replace the heating/cooling being lost. This is not exaggeration. Do you see why you’re wasting so much energy? Why your utility bills are so high?

But we are going to find those leaks, plug them, and seal them forever…

· Many older homes treat the basement like an outcast orphan, it’s there, but let’s leave it alone. Too bad because it’s eating incredible amount of energy dollars if left untreated.

· Cavities and spaces between walls in older homes are usually either under insulated or completely uninsulated. If you have a one room in your house that is always colder than all the others, this is usually the reason. You might as well be heating or cooling this room with all the windows open.

· Stone and brick walls look great on the outside however they are probably killing your utility bill if they’re not properly dressed on the inside.

A simple, yet effective method of determining air leaks is to…

Use some sticks of incense. Light them and walk around the house on a windy day is best, but any day will do.

1. · Stand in the middle of the room and observe what happens to the smoke.
2. It should, in a well-insulated room, rise straight upward. Walk to other parts of the room, test all 4 corners.
3. Test near windows.
4. If the smoke is drawn towards you, or is blown away this indicates an air leakage path.
5. Make a note of where you are in the room when the smoke pattern emerges. Or better, draw a simple square on a piece of paper, marking the locations.

Continue testing in this manner, paying particular attention to…

• Electrical outlets, including sockets, switches and light fixtures.
• Any plumbing penetrations including vent stacks and lines coming in to taps and dishwashers, air conditions, heating vents, etc.
• Floor to ceiling joists or other areas where the structure of the house is coming together.
• Floor to ceiling joists or other areas where the structure of the house is coming together.
• Baseboards, crown moldings and doorway and window moldings.
• Fireplace damper area and/or chimney exit through wall or attic.
• Thoroughly check windows and doors. Test the glass, make sure it snug and tight.
• Check the ventilation openings and/or fittings for appliances. This would include kitchen and bathroom fans, dryer vents, gas stoves, water heaters, etc.
• Any pipes, vents, wiring, or plumbing lines in the basement or attic. If possible move the insulation away from these places as you check.

In any place where you encounter the smoke blowing, make a note on your sketch and assign it a severity rating. In other words, smoke blowing directly towards or away from any hole would also be marked with a 1 thru 10 scale indicating severity.

In many older homes, you can stand in the middle of the room and the smoke will be blowing all over the place. Don’t despair. Just mark all the areas down for now. This way, when the time comes you can tackle the tough, problem areas first, saving the most energy dollars, right off the bat.

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Other methods of detecting air leaks include

• Shining flashlight at night over all potential gaps while a partner observes the house from outside. Large cracks will show up as rays of light. Not a good way to detect small cracks.
• Shutting a door or window on a piece of paper. If you can pull the paper out without tearing it, you're losing energy

Use the attached worksheet to help you.

The Basement Check:

An uninsulated basement can account for as much as 35% OF TOTAL HEAT LOSS IN A HOME.

Most people don’t even consider an unfinished basement in terms of heat loss. Most people have the idea that heat only travel upward, and that the earth is a good insulator.

Wrong on both counts.

Heat will travel in any direction it wants, but as a rule of thumb it ALWAYS travels from a warmer area to a colder one. The same with cold air, it always seeks its opposite for balance. To compound the problem, uninsulated floors and walls in these areas act as a heat sink, drawing warm air to these cooler regions.

• · Is the basement ceiling insulated? If not, consider insulating it.
• Check around ceiling penetrations, where the water pipes go upstairs.
• Also check around the joints on your duct system.

To get maximum advantage from any basement upgrade you first should correct any underlying problems. Check your basement for…

• · Accumulates water in the spring or after a heavy rain.
• Dampness, water leaks or puddles after heavy rain.
• Look for any major, or moving cracks in the foundation wall

If you find these problems many times it can be corrected with adding a sump pump.

Many times simple landscaping away from the foundation walls will help.

Consider adding gutters to the house eaves and directing the rain water away from the foundation.

The Attic Check:

Everyone loves to dump their insulation dollars into the attic. Maybe this comes from the mistaken belief that heat rises, therefore, conventional wisdom dictates this MUST be the place to put it. Or maybe it’s because it’s one of the easiest places to insulate. Whatever the reason, just dump a few bags of insulation up there out of the way, and VOILA !!!! Instant 50% savings on the heating/cooling bill.

Sorry. It doesn’t work that way.

The attic does lose heat, no question. But not nearly the heat lose of an uninsulated basement or exterior wall.

In checking the attic the important thing is to make sure all the ceiling penetrations are sealed.

You do this by moving aside the existing insulation to gain access to any problem areas. Yes, of course, ventilation in the attic is important and you shouldn’t be sealing up the vents. These are important to provide summer cooling and winter dryness.

Another potential problem in the attic is moisture, which could come from a number of different places. A leaky roof, ice damming, or even from household vents from the kitchen or bathroom.

Check the attic several times a year, for example, after a heavy rain or on a very cold day. Look for…

• Wet areas
• Mold
• Rot
• Or small drip holes on the insulation, or attic floor surfaces

Spend a weekend doing a systematic check of your home. You’ll now be in a position to know the issues you face, and the best way of dealing with them.

Now that you know the issues, now make a plan to address the challenge. In the nest lesson we'll tackle each issue and solve them. How to save energy continues...