Repair & Improve

Cotton Candy, Bubble Gum And Other Sweet Ideas For Saving Energy

by Tom Kraeutler

Are winter’s coming high energy bills already leaving a sour taste in your mouth?  The solution?  Think about candy.  Usually, candy is bad for you and causes cavities.  But now, a host of products that look like “candy” can fill those cavities, reduce those drafts and sweeten your pocketbook.

Already, economists are predicting that winter heating costs will be higher than past years, a reflection of continued unrest in the major oil-producing countries.  That means it will be more expensive to heat your home, with heating bills expected to increase by 20 percent as the temperature drops.

If you still remember last winter’s heating bills and the impact they had on your family’s finances, then now is a good time to review your home’s energy efficiency and make improvements.  There are some quick, simple solutions that can stem the tide of money flowing from your pocketbook and improve your family’s comfort at home.

How can you tell if your home is an energy loser?  Here are a few simple tests:

Measure – Check your attic for adequate insulation.  Use a ruler to measure how deep the insulation is in the rafters.  If you don’t have 12 inches of fiberglass batt insulation, blown insulation or blown in foam insulation, you need to improve your home’s blanket.  The needed R-value varies across the country based on the Model Energy Codes, so check for your location and house type at www.ornl.gov or www.energycodes.gov.  And, if the existing insulation is wet, dirty or compacted, it has lost some of its insulating value and will need to be replaced.

If your basement is unheated, determine whether there is insulation under the living area flooring. In most areas of the country, R-25 is the recommended minimum level of insulation. The insulation at the top of the foundation wall and first floor perimeter should have an R-Value of 19 or greater. If the basement is heated, the foundation walls should be insulated to at least R-19. Your water heater, hot water pipes, and furnace ducts should all be insulated.

Monitor – Routinely check the age and performance of your home’s appliances, from heating and cooling system to water heater to kitchen and laundry appliances.  If you have old appliances, these are enormous energy sappers.  Up-to-date Energy Star models will reduce energy use substantially.  Also, test your furnace filter.  If it is dirty, your furnace is using extra energy to heat your home.  And if your water heater is naked, a fiberglass water heater blanket could keep the water inside warmer longer, reducing heating costs.

Blow – When the wind blows, can you feel the chill?  You should check your doors and windows for air leaks that act like a sieve for your heated air – and your money.  On a drafty day, hold a tissue or candle at openings.  If the tissue moves or the candle flickers, you need to stop the flow with weatherstripping or sealants, or consider replacing the windows with double-pane windows with low-E glass and the door with an energy efficient fiberglass door. 

You also should check electrical outlets and switch plates, which allow air to flow from room to room if not properly insulated, as well as baseboards.  Finally, check your can lights in your ceiling for insulation.  When heat rises, this is the easiest way out of a room.  If you need to add insulation, make sure you use insulation designed for electrical applications and allow three inches around each fixture to prevent overheating.  Ideally, you should have IC-rated fixtures, since these are the most air tight and energy efficient.

How does this all pay off?  The potential energy savings of reducing drafts may range from 5 percent to 30 percent per year.

Glow – Your home’s lighting may be dimming your finances, as energy for lighting accounts for about 10 percent of your electrical bill.  Overhead lights with traditional incandescent bulbs are a major power drain, so check your fixtures to see what bulbs are in each. You may have 100 watt bulbs where 60 or 75 watts would be sufficient.  And, consider compact fluorescent or halogen lights that reduce energy use but deliver lots of bright light.  Also, make sure you completely turn off stereo systems and computers when not in use, which continue to use energy even while idle. 

So now that you know where your home is using excess energy, what do you do?  The solutions are relatively simple and can be handled by most do-it-yourselfers.  The inspiration for your energy saving ideas – your neighborhood candy store!  When you think of energy improvements, think of cotton candy, bubble gum and licorice as your sweetest solutions.  Why?  Pink fiberglass insulation resembles cotton candy, foam sealant looks like bubble gum and weatherstripping looks like rolls of licorice, and unlike their sugary counterparts, they fill cavities rather than cause them.

How do you know what you need?

Insulation:  You can increase the comfort of your home while reducing your heating and cooling needs by up to 30 percent by investing just a few hundred dollars in proper insulation and weatherization products

Although insulation can be made from a variety of materials, it usually comes in four types—batts, rolls, loose-fill, and rigid foam boards. Each type is made to fit in a different part of your house.  Fiberglass batts and rolls are excellent for new construction walls and ceilings, and for attics and crawlspaces in existing homes.  Blown-in insulation, available in fiberglass or cellulose ( a paper product coated with fire retardant) can be used in attics or existing walls. 
Rigid foam boards are made of polyisocyanurate, extruded polystyrene (XPS), expanded polystyrene (EPS or beadboard), or other materials. These boards are lightweight, provide structural support, and generally have an R-value of 4 to 7 per inch. Rigid board insulation is made to be used in confined spaces such as exterior walls, basements, foundation and stem walls, concrete slabs, and cathedral ceilings.  For more information on insulation types, visit www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo/energy_savers

Sealants:  You can’t seal drafts without caulk or sealants.  For electrical outlets, switch plates or foundation openings, consider Great Stuff foam sealant.  It is easy to apply and expands to fill cavities. And, it also has a certain resemblance to bubble gum.  If you are installing new windows and doors, use DAPtex® Plus Window & Door Foam Sealant with CoVinyl-X9000.   It offers resistance to air and water infiltration, but unlike polyurethane foam, there is no worry about getting DAPtex Plus off of surfaces or skin because it cleans up with soap and water, and unlike polyurethane foam, DAPtex Plus can’t over-expand, potentially bending window and door jambs making them difficult to operate.  For existing drafty windows, consider DAP Seal n’ Peel, which allows you to apply clear “temporary” caulk to windows in the winter to reduce drafts, and then peel it away for warmer weather.

Weatherstripping:  Weatherstripping is the easy to apply, immediate-rewards solution for home draftiness, almost like how chocolate satisfies a sweet tooth.  It comes in rolls of black, white or tan adhesive-backed foam, and can quickly and inexpensively eliminate air infiltration around your doors and windows.

Bottom line, energy efficiency at your home is easy to achieve with a few simple steps It’s all available at your neighborhood home center.  The results pay off nearly as fast as the sugar rush from a Snicker’s bar, but will keep you warmer come February.  Just remember, “candy is dandy, but warm air is more handy.” 

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