Stop the draft

I’ve been getting lots of requests for heaters lately, and it makes sense considering the almost overnight shift to colder weather we’ve experienced here on the east coast. The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a rather harsh winter for us, on top of the to-be-expected cold temperatures of northern winters. Now, I happen to be one who enjoys the winter time, but when I get home I like to be toasty… personally, I’d rather not be burning 1500 watts of electricity through a space heater just to keep warm (yes, some super cold nights are the exception). So let’s review some simple ways to keep the warmth in your home and the cold out, because there’s no reason that you shouldn’t have the luxury of sitting around in your underwear year round.

Most of the heat that escapes from your dwelling goes out the window, literally. If you aren’t taking the time to properly winterize your windows then you will either be miserably cold or have a whopping heating bill. If you live in an apartment with radiant heat, I can’t recommend more the necessity of insulating your windows, considering the fact that you will have limited (if any) control of the heat output of your radiators.

Heat can escape through your windows in three ways; the result of a draft, through your permanently installed AC unit, or through contact with the window’s glass. Some unfortunate souls may be loosing heat for all of those reasons. Let’s tackle these issues one by one.

If you’re losing heat through a drafty window, stop the draft (duh). You can easily plug a drafty window with a few different products. My favorite is Mortite caulking cord. Caulking cord is sorta like that clay you played with in kindergarten that never dried. You can peel strips of it off the roll and shmoosh it into any gaps in your window. Self sticking foam tape is another option. It comes in a variety of thicknesses and widths. Simply run some along the bottom of your window and close it down hard against the foam. The quickest fix for drafty windows is Weatherseal tape. Weatherseal tape looks almost identical to clear packing tape, but it’s thicker and the adhesive is impervious to cold temperatures. All you have to do is tape over any gaps and presto, draft contained.

If you’re losing heat through an air conditioner, you’ll need to invest in an air conditioner cover. If you have access to your AC unit from the exterior, you can wrap it with a cover on the outside. This will stop drafts from coming through the air conditioner with the added benefit of you not having to look at it all the time. If (like me) you do not have access to your AC unit from the out side, you’ll have to wrap it up on the inside. You can opt for a simple plastic AC cover, but I recommend going the extra mile and splurging on the quilted variety. These covers are just like socks for your air conditioner. Just slip it on and tighten it with some cord if the elastic is too loose. After you have your AC unit covered, check around it for drafts and plug them up using the methods mentioned above.

If you’re loosing heat through your window glass, nothing works better than window insulating Shrink Film. Shrink film is intended for indoor use and is rather easy to install. It comes in different sizes depending on application (large windows, patio doors, etc.) but they all install the same way. Simply make a frame of double stick tape (included with film) on the wall around the window and stick the film to it. Apply some heat with a hair dryer and the film will tighten up, resulting in a crystal clear finish. You have now trapped a layer of air between your window and the film which will prevent air in the room from circulating against the cold window glass. It’s amazing how well this simple product works.   

If you follow these steps and are still a little chilly, put on a sweater and make some hot chocolate.

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