As temperatures drop, your utility bills usually rise. For many homeowners, the arrival of winter signals a battle against drafts, cold spots, and a furnace that seems to run constantly just to keep the living room comfortable.
Seal the Envelope: Windows and Doors
Your windows and doors are the most obvious escape routes for warm air. Even double-paned glass can’t stop the chill if the frames aren’t sealed correctly. Over time, houses settle, and frames shift, creating microscopic (or sometimes quite visible) gaps that suck heat out of your home.
Weather Stripping and Caulk
The first line of defense is weather stripping. This material creates a tight seal when a door or window is closed. To check if you need it, wait for a windy day and run your hand along the edges of your doors. If you feel a breeze, your current weather stripping has failed.
- V-Channel Stripping: This plastic or metal strip folds into a V-shape and is excellent for the sides of double-hung windows or doors. It creates tension against the gap to stop air flow.
- Foam Tape: An affordable and easy solution for irregular gaps. It compresses when the door closes, filling the space effectively.
For stationary components, like the window frame meeting the wall, caulk is your best friend. Inspect the perimeter of your window frames both inside and outside. If you see cracked or missing sealant, scrape it out and apply a fresh bead of silicone-latex caulk. It’s a small task that significantly reduces air infiltration.
Thermal Curtains and Blinds
Once the gaps are sealed, look at the glass itself. Glass is a poor insulator. When it gets cold outside, the glass creates a convective current—warm air hits the cold glass, cools down, and drops to the floor, creating the sensation of a draft even if the window is sealed.
Heavy thermal curtains act as a blanket for your walls. They typically have a layer of acrylic foam between the fabric layers to provide insulation. During sunny winter days, keep them open to let solar heat in. The moment the sun goes down, close them tight to trap that heat inside. Honeycomb (cellular) shades are another effective option, as their unique shape traps air pockets that act as insulators.
Hunt Down the Sneaky Drafts
Windows and doors are the usual suspects, but they aren’t the only culprits. Your home is likely riddled with smaller, less obvious holes that collectively act like an open window.
Outlets and Switch Plates
It might seem strange, but your electrical outlets can be major sources of cold air. The electrical boxes behind the switch plates are basically holes cut into your drywall that lead directly into the wall cavity. If your exterior walls aren’t perfectly insulated, cold air travels through the wall and out through the socket.
The fix is incredibly simple. You can purchase foam gaskets specifically designed for outlets and light switches. You simply unscrew the plastic cover plate, place the foam gasket over the outlet, and screw the cover back on. It takes two minutes per outlet and stops the airflow immediately. For outlets you don’t use often, consider using child-safety plugs to seal the actual socket holes.
Baseboards and Trim
Take a look at where your baseboards meet the floor. In older homes or homes where the flooring has been replaced, there is often a gap between the trim and the floorboards. This gap allows cold air from the basement or crawlspace to seep up into your living area.
Use a clear or paintable caulk to seal the top and bottom of your baseboards. If the gap at the bottom is too wide for caulk, consider installing a “quarter round”—a small piece of rounded wood trim—nailed into the baseboard to bridge the gap.
Optimize Your Heating System for Efficiency
Your furnace or boiler works hard all winter. If you neglect maintenance, the system has to work harder to reach the temperature set on your thermostat, wasting energy and shortening the lifespan of the unit.
Bleeding Radiators
If you have a radiator system, you might notice that some units don’t get as hot as others, or they make clanking noises. This usually happens because air bubbles are trapped inside the system, preventing hot water from filling the radiator completely.
To fix this, you need to “bleed” the radiator.
- Turn your heat on and let the system warm up.
- Find the bleed valve (usually a small square valve at the top of the radiator).
- Use a radiator key or a flathead screwdriver to turn the valve slightly counterclockwise.
- You will hear a hissing sound as air escapes.
- Once water starts to trickle out, close the valve immediately.
Filter Maintenance and System Health
For those with forced-air systems, airflow is everything. A clogged air filter restricts air movement, causing the furnace to run longer to heat the house. Check your filter monthly during the winter. If it looks grey and dusty, swap it out. It is one of the cheapest ways to improve efficiency.
While simple maintenance can extend your unit’s life, sometimes a full furnace replacement, such as those offered in Draper, is the only option if the system is decades old and failing. However, for most homeowners, a tune-up and a fresh filter are enough to get through the season comfortably.
Protect Your Plumbing
Winter-proofing isn’t just about air temperature; it’s about protecting your home’s infrastructure. When water freezes, it expands. If that happens inside a copper or PVC pipe, the pipe can burst, causing catastrophic water damage.
Pipe Insulation
Identify any water pipes that run through unheated areas, such as a garage, basement, or crawlspace. These are the pipes most at risk of freezing.
Visit your local hardware store and buy foam pipe insulation tubes. These are pre-slit down the middle, making them easy to slip over existing pipes. Secure them with duct tape or cable ties. This insulation keeps the warmth of the water inside the pipe and shields it from the freezing air temperature of the room.
The Dripping Faucet Technique
During extreme cold snaps—when temperatures drop well below freezing—insulation might not be enough for pipes located on exterior walls. In these specific instances, allowing a faucet to drip can save your plumbing.
You don’t need a steady stream; a slow drip is sufficient. This keeps water moving through the system, which makes it much harder to freeze. Open the cabinet doors under sinks located on exterior walls to allow warm air from your home to circulate through the pipes.
Conclusion
Preparing your home for winter doesn’t require a renovation crew or a bank loan. It requires a keen eye for drafts and a few hours of effort. By sealing the gaps around your windows and doors, insulating your outlets, tuning up your heating system, and protecting your pipes, you create a home that holds heat more effectively.
