Seal Home Improvement - 6 Instant Fixes

As fossil fuel prices skyrocket to ridiculous all-time highs, green building techniques and energy efficiency become more important to the everyday homeowner.  But what the average consumer doesn't realize is just how much they can do to secure their residence against heat transfer and air loss.  A tight building envelope seals cool air inside during the summer and warm air inside during the winter, reducing the run time of boilers, furnaces, and central air conditioning systems. 

Below are six quick home fixes that the average homeowner can easily accomplish to conserve both money and energy.  For dozens more fantastic (and easy!) ways to conserve energy, you can also visit Green Building with Energy Star.

<b>Put Tight Seals on Doors and Windows</b> - The most common place for a home to lose energy is at the entry and exit points: the doors and windows.  Perform a thorough examination of these openings to feel for drafts or air transfer, then improve your home building seal by deciding upon the best method of better insulating them.  Caulking up cracks and sealing gaps is one way to prevent unwanted airflow between conditioned and unconditioned space.  Expanding foam products are sold to fill in larger areas between wall and door or window frame.  Don't be afraid to pull off your mouldings - you may be surprised at what you see!  The fixes here are inexpensive and provide instant results.

<b>Purchase Energy Star Rated Products &amp; Appliances</b> - The US Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program is designed to recognize building materials and appliances that save substantial amounts of energy over other materials within the same class or type.  Doors, windows, and skylights bearing the blue Energy Star logo will contribute to a much tighter building envelope through the use of double-paned glass, warm-edge spacers, and low E-coatings that help reflect heat both inside and out.  Seal home improvement savings for these products generally pay for themselves over their own lifetimes through reduced utility bills.  Washers, Dryers, Refrigerators, as well as heating and cooling systems and home electronics are all rated by the Energy Star program... and the models that make the cut will save you tremendous amounts of energy, water, and money over the lifetime of the appliance.

<b>Seal your Home's Floor Slab or Foundation</b> - The part of your home touching the ground is also the part most susceptible to moisture.  Besides leading to mold and other health hazards, a wet or damp basement will decrease the effectiveness of heating and cooling units.  If you're about to undertake new construction, seal home improvement includes filter fabrics made of geotextile materials can be built beneath the foundation to help force water away from your home.  For existing homeowners, waterproof membranes can be added to either side of your foundation or slab. Made from clay or even rubber-based substances, such a membrane can easily applied or even painted on to protect your home from unwanted moisture.

<b>Check Your Wall Cavity Insulation</b> - A tremendous number of brick or masonry homes were built with an empty gap between two layers of external walls, and you may very well be living in one of them.  Such a cavity acts as a terrible heat sink and could easily be responsible for a large portion of your heating or cooling bills.  There is a huge margin for seal home improvement here.  Luckily, today's modern methods for insulating these wall cavities is simple and wholly effective.  Spray insulation includes recycled cellulose, polyurthane, or polystyrene fillers that expand to fill the gap and eliminate unwanted airflow.  If you live in a brick home and your walls feel drafty, you may want to check behind them to see what you've got!

<b>Install a Radiant Barrier in your Attic</b> - As your home fills with conditioned air, it seeks to escape to the outside - and through your roof is the most likely getaway plan.  One very easy way to slow the dissipation of heat and cold energy through the top of your home is by installing a radiant barrier.  This simple product is little more than a thin sheet of reflective foil that you can roll out and affix to your roofing beams for substantial seal home improvement.  Radiant barriers can also be installed along the floor of your attic or even in the exterior walls of your home, should they be open.  These barriers and non-insulating but actually reflect radiant heat energy back into the home to keep it warm, or in the case of hot summer months they can reflect up to 95% of the sun's radiant energy striking your roof, keeping your attic much cooler.  Purchase them in panels or large rolls - installation is simple and the product is effective enough to lower your utility bills by up to 10 or 15% annually, especially in hotter climates.

<b>Replace your Standard Light Bulbs with CFL's</b> - Yes, you've heard this one before.  Perhaps you thought those spiral-looking compact fluorescent light bulbs were unattractive... or maybe you didn't like the type of light they gave off.  Guess what?  Those excuses are empty now, as new CFL technology has created bulbs that look identical to standard incandescent bulbs and that give off much whiter, cleaner light than ever before.  CFL's will save you incredible amounts on electric bills because they use 75% less electricity than standard bulbs and give off 75% less heat also!  Compact fluorescent bulbs have a lifetime that's 8 or 10 times as long as a regular light bulb, and in almost all cases pay for themselves in energy savings over the bulb's lifetime.  For homeowners looking to go green and save energy, the installation of CFL's is a given in the world of efficiency and home improvement.