Weatherization Solutions
Good Advice For Any Season
Weatherizing your home is important no matter the season or what the external temperature is. Research from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), a governmental agency responsible for objectively collecting energy data, conducting analysis and making forecasts, reports that electricity production ramps up between June and August due to high air conditioning usage. In fact, it accounts for 15% of total energy use.
Using your furnace or air conditioner is a necessity in Wisconsin and is important for the health, safety and comfort of your family. Making weatherization improvements (such as air sealing and adding insulation) will help increase your comfort and reduce energy bills from getting out of control.
Start with a Home Weatherization Audit
The first step to weatherizing your home is knowing where your home is leaking and wasting energy. A home weatherization audit is an overall assessment of where improvements can be made so you can be more comfortable, save money and reduce your energy waste. Hiring a professional contractor with Building Performance Institute (BPI) certification, software tools and the knowledge and expertise will save you money and time.
This is what Home Energy Solutions of Wisconsin does best.
Air sealing, adding insulation and properly ventilating equipment is what 90% of our customers need most. Our weatherization solutions include:
- Sealing around doors and windows
- Improving the home’s building envelope
- Filling holes and cracks between the attic and ceiling
- Sealing up leaky ducts
- Adding insulation to the attic, walls, and basement/crawlspace
- Inspecting and adding ventilation around the home
Do-It-Yourself Weatherization Tips
- Air Filters: Clean and replace air filters can make a significant difference in the efficiency of your HVAC system. During high usage periods it is best to freshen up filters once a month.
- Outlets and Switches: Prevent cooled air from leaking into the walls and wasting energy by installing foam sealers. Simply remove the outlet cover and insert these specialized sealers.
- Windows: Any time a window is broken it should be replaced. It is not only an energy efficiency issues, it is a safety hazard. A new window prevents air from leaking out of cracks and wasting money.
- Weather-stripping: Adding or replacing weather-stripping around doors and windows will save energy. Foam weather-stripping comes in various sizes with an adhesive backing on one side. It can be purchased at any home improvement store and easy to install.
Check out our Education Center and weatherization tips and tricks from these participating Focus on Energy utility companies:
