Insulating & Draftproofing
About half of every energy dollar you spend goes to heating your home. Insulation and draftproofing can make your home more comfortable and quiet, while saving energy and reducing heating costs.
Insulation may come in batts or loosefill, which can be blown into place. Draftproofing can reduce your home's heat loss by about 5-10%, and can be the Power Smart investment with the fastest payback.
Tips to prevent energy loss
- Use insulated exterior doors, not hollow ones.
- If your exterior entrance door is drafty, you can caulk between the doorframe and the wall. To stop drafts under the door, install a door sweep on the bottom edge.
- Use an incense stick to find leaks, or run your hand over window sills, doors and walls to feel for cold drafts.
- Use weatherstripping to seal around door openings and windows.
- Use caulking to seal gaps and holes around non-opening windows, electrical outlets and openings around water pipes and vents.
- Insulate floors, walls, crawlspaces, basements and attics.
- Use a dehumidistat to maintain the right humidity level for health and comfort. It senses the humidity level to run the ventilating fan whenever it's needed.
Ventilation
The average family produces 10 to 50 litres of moisture a day from cooking, bathing, washing dishes and other activities. Odours and pollutants are also constantly being released in the house.
A good ventilation system is needed to maintain proper moisture levels and air quality, especially if you have tightened the house with draftproofing. Draftproofing can result in higher humidity levels and excess humidity needs to be removed. A mechanical ventilation system is preferred over opening windows as it gives much more control, avoids overventilating, and is cleaner, quieter and more secure than having windows open. A dehumidistat, which controls the ventilating fan, is an important part of the system and helps to prevent the buildup of moisture that can lead to mould and allergies.
