Weather Stripping Challenge to Lower Your AC Bills

Most homeowners would gladly take the opportunity to cut down on their overall energy costs. Your air conditioner is arguably the largest energy consumer in our homes. About thirty percent of the total energy budget for your home goes towards heating and cooling.

Weather Stripping

Weather stripping is a process of sealing openings such as windows and doors. The first aim of weather-stripping is to completely prevent water, including rain water, from entering our houses. The second objective of weather-stripping is to keep the interior air inside and the exterior air outside, saving us the energy costs of air conditioning and heating.

Some Realtors also use weather-stripping to increase the interior comfort and also to reduce the penetration of sounds, which significantly reduces the level of noise on the inside of buildings.

Sealing the gaps around windows, attic access points, and doors and can enable you to make your home significantly warmer and save you on energy costs. With the various types of weather-stripping available and lining shelves at your local hardware store, ensuring you choose the right one for a specific job can prove a daunting task.

To assist you, we have broken down common options by profile and material so that you have a better idea on what to install to ensure you keep your home warm.

The first step towards a successful weather-stripping is to identify all possible air leaks in your home including the unseen pathways and holes in your plumbing, air conditioners, and general wiring, especially for an extensive weather-stripping of your house.

Window Weatherstripping

For window weather-stripping, there are several different ways of approach dependent on the type of window. Double–hung and casement are the two most common window types in our houses. You can use weather-stripping on your window to seal all sides. On sashes and window tops, use metal caps to redirect rainwater. You could also apply foam weather-stripping to the sashes and sides.

Weather-stripping the Double-hung Window

For the double-hung window, you will require both the V-channel weather-stripping and the self-adhesive foam insulation. For a successful weather-stripping of the double-hung window, we outline below the simple steps to take.

Clean the bottom of the window sash using water and soap then leave to dry while you cut to length the weather-stripping foam. After peeling the back of the foam, press the adhesive side of your foam against the bottom of the sash, forming a tight bond. Clean out the jamb using water and soap and cut two pieces of V-channel that are at least an inch longer than the sash while allowing the frame to dry completely.

Peel the back of your V-channel and work this peeled V-channel between the frame and the sash then firmly press the V-channel into the frame. To ensure the weather-stripping is firm, drive a finish nail into the jamb through the weather-stripping to secure the weather-stripping to the jamb.

Use soap and water to clean out the back of the bottom sash and let it completely dry off while cutting a piece of V-channel that matches the width of the sash. Raise the sash about three to four inches, peel the back from the V-channel and press this firmly into the back of the sash. The V should now open facing upwards to ensure the weather-stripping compresses when you close the window.

Weather-stripping the Casement Window

For the casement window, you will require the self-adhesive foam insulation only. For a successful weather-stripping of the casement window, we outline below the simple steps to take.

Open your window, then clean the outside of the stops using water and soap. Cut enough self-adhesive foam to fit the bottom, top and sides of the stops while allowing the stops to dry completely. Peel the back from every piece of self-adhesive foam you had cut, you then press these pieces into the outside of the stops.

Door Weather-stripping

You should weather-strip every exterior door, especially doors to rooms that have no insulation such as the attic. The materials to use for a successful weather-stripping of doors include a swipe or J-hook to match your door to the threshold, weatherstripping, and thresholds.

Pre-weather stripped doors mainly used in private homes are usually fiberglass or of a similar material and arrive from the manufacturers weather-stripped. A kerf in the door stop enables the placement of vinyl strip, foam, or rubber on the inside, for a closed door to rest.

Pre-weather stripped doors also have the threshold already nailed to the frame by the manufacturers. The threshold is usually a piece of molded plastic. The installation of the pre-weather stripped door is usually simple and requires little skill.

Compared to the pre-weather stripped doors, custom weather-stripping doors requires much more time and specialized skills. Expert weather-strippers will initially install a threshold, and then cut the door to install a J-hook at the bottom of the door.

And finally they will nail spring-steel bronze through the doorjamb sealing the gap. For thermal comfort door weather-stripping is critical plus it helps to reduce the overall consumption of any building and to reduce the air leakages to a minimum, doors must meet a high airtight standard.

Conclusion

Another inexpensive tip towards minimizing your energy cost is the use of the lesser energy consuming overhead fans, which also get air circulating; this means you may be able to delay the turning on of your air conditioning system, especially when you can leave your window open on the summer evenings that are cool.

The installation of overhead fans is best done by professionals and air conditioning and heating companies are the best option for the job.

Employ the services of professional air conditioning experts to inspect and confirm that your system is leak-free and will operating as efficiently as possible. Remember to clean air filters of your air conditioning unit because some units require monthly cleaning.

In case you are unable to weatherstrip your windows and doors successfully, and when you have any problems with your air conditioning system please contact Atlantic Heating & Air Conditioning in Boston, MA at (617) 566-6990 for free advice and professional servicing if necessary.