Temporary Fixes To Long Term Problems

Posted on Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

People who have old, drafty houses do some crazy things to prepare for winter. Instead of buying new windows, doors, and proper insulation, they opt for the cheap fixes. Putting film on windows, turning off the heat at night, and closing the heat ducts to unused rooms.
If done with moderation, DIY winterizing can be a good idea. You shouldn’t waste heat in places you don’t use. If you sleep well in the cold, why not turn down the heat at night? You have one drafty window with a broken seal, use the film. If done in moderation, these are great ways to lower your energy bills. The problems arise when people take it overboard.

Letting It Get Just A Little Too Cold

The problem with taking home winterizing to an extreme is that it can do more harm than good. When temperatures outside fall below 20 degrees, you need to start thinking about your piping. If your pipes freeze, it is very likely to result in damages in the thousands. So while easing up on the heat is OK, if you have redirected a duct from a less used room and turned down the heat, it might get too cold and break piping.

On a less severe note, if it drops below freezing, 32 degrees in a room, you are risking damage to your paint, furniture, and pictures. Things that belong inside of a home normally don’t handle extremes in temperature very well. Freezing temperatures make things dry out, crack, and age prematurely.

The Long Term Solution

If you really want to save money in the winter, you have to be willing to make an investment. DIY measures might work year to year, but eventually the costs of winterizing will balance out with the cost of an investment. The things that make your home cold in the winter are also making your home hot in the summer. Whatever the season, your home is inefficient. You are spending more than you should on energy throughout the year.

Insulation, like Dixie’s Diamond Barrier Plus, help keep the heat in during the winter and out during the summer. New energy efficient windows will help to insulate one of the draftiest parts of your home. Finally, take a look at your doors and make sure they don’t have any open cracks when they are shut. You can do this by waiting until dark and shining a light around one side while someone on the other side looks for like leaking through. If you see light in the cracks, you know air is getting in. At the very least, you can look into weather stripping, but often times, a whole new door would be the best way to go.

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