Your home has an envelope that is made up of the exterior walls, floors, roof, windows, and doors — everything that surrounds your living space. Maintaining the envelope is vital to protecting you from the outside elements and controlling the cost of operating your home.
If colder weather is coming to your area, it’s not too late to put together a checklist and take appropriate action to protect that envelope.
For example, a storm door that doesn’t fit securely is letting cold air penetrate your home. Installing a new one will cut down on drafts and prevent heat loss.
Single pane windows can mean significant loss of your valuable energy. As a temporary measure you can apply tape-on window insulation plastic, but to do the job right add storm windows — and don’t forget the basement windows.
Hold your hand in front of an outside wall outlet and you’ll be surprised at the cold air seeping in. Multiply that by all the outlets on outside walls and you can imagine how small gaps, cracks and spaces can compromise your home’s energy envelope. Slipping precut insulating pads underneath the cover plates will cut down on this heat loss.
Some other things you can do to help secure the envelope of your home for winter include replacing worn door stops, weatherstripping exterior doors, and adding insulation up to recommended R-values, particularly in the attic.
Protecting the envelope of your home can have extra benefits besides increased comfort and reduced energy costs. A well insulated home means less noise pollution, cleaner air, and less chance of ice-dams. So this winter put protecting your home’s envelope at the top of your project list.