Reduce Your Heating Bills With New Entry Doors, Storm Doors and Replacement Windows
As the winter comes to a close, it is a good time to examine your heating bills to see where you can make some money saving changes. One of the major causes of high heating bills are doors and windows that let your warm air escape and the cold air enter. Experts agree that you can save between 20% and 40% on your heating and cooling bills just by replacing your doors and windows.
Replacement Entry Doors
Replacement entry doors include the frame of the door and the door itself. This assembly is generally referred to as a pre-hung door. The biggest benefit of a pre-hung door is that the weather stripping on the frame are perfectly matched to the door. If the door is installed properly it should keep out rain and very strong wind. Another benefit is that steel and fiberglass entry doors are filled with foam insulation that reduces heat loss.
Storm Doors
Storm doors are a great solution if you have drafty entry doors and you can not afford to replace the whole entry door. Adding a storm door prevents or retards wind and rain from hitting your entry door.
Replacement windows are the #1 home improvement when it comes to fighting high heating and cooling bills. Most of the new replacement windows have 2 or 3 layers of glass compared to most homes that only have a single layer of glass. These new double or triple pane windows contain Argon or Krypton gas between the panes that act like and insulation to reduce the transfer of heat. The new windows also use a product called Low E which is a film that helps prevent heat transfer and reduces the amount of harmful UV rays that enter your home.
Weather Stripping
If your budget is small and you can’t control the heat loss around your doors and windows, weather stripping is a good short term solution. For around $75.00 you can buy enough materials to weather strip the doors and windows on the average home.
Testing Your Doors and Windows
This is the fun part! Borrow a shop vacuum from a neighbor or use any vacuum with an exhaust hose to blow air towards your windows and doors. Have one person outside with the vacuum while you stand inside and feel for the drafts. You should retest your doors and windows after your repairs to make sure that your repairs worked.
