With cold weather coming to my area in waves this year it seemed like a good time to look into how to cut your energy costs.  This will be a four part series with two posts this week and two next week.

The first step to solving any problem is to form a plan.  The method I use for making sure my hard earned money is not getting wasted on heating and cooling my home is to perform an Energy Audit.  This means going around the house and finding any area that might have the potential to form a draft.  The most common areas are doors, windows, fireplaces, and holes in the floor for wiring (older homes).  I also check the insulation that is in my attic as well as what is pinned underneath my house in the crawl space.

When you identify a problem area, you need to get it sealed or fixed in the case of insulation.  If it is an insulation problem you can add more (fairly inexpensively if you do it your self), but for any type of draft the goal is to get it sealed.  The most common practice is to use caulk for windows and holes and possibly the fireplace (make sure to use the right kind) and for doors to use weather stripping and door sweeps.  In a pinch taping plastic over the problem will get you sealed until you can find a more permanent fix.

One last thing to check in your energy audit is weather the bathroom fans are being left on.  This is a great way to loose heating or cooling in your home.  A bathroom fan in the average home can completely move the air out in a little over an hour.  So make sure the kids are turning the fan off once the bathroom is no longer in use.