If you're looking to improve your home's energy efficiency, insulation is a great place to start. But you don't have to wait for a professional installation – there are plenty of DIY home insulation projects you can do yourself. Here are 12 of the best.
Caulking and weather-stripping your windows and doors is an effective way to insulate your home against heat loss. Not only does it help maintain cozy temperatures in the winter, but it also blocks out heat in the summer, which helps reduce energy bills all year round.
Caulking and weatherstripping are not just a one-time fix—it's an investment that provides long-term benefits to your pocketbook and comfort levels.
Potential Savings: 5-10% on your energy bill
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The best way to stop cold air from entering your home is to add door sweeps (door snake). Door sweeps are a quick and simple solution that should be implemented to reduce the energy output of your home and lower your monthly bills.
They are an inexpensive insulation product that attaches to the bottom of a door where air can leak out or in, blocking drafts from entering with ease. A door snake can come in many styles, including aluminum-flap, nylon brush, vinyl, polypropylene pile, and vinyl/steel brush, allowing you to make sure there is a style that fits perfectly for any door type or flooring surface in your home.
They also come in various sizes, so it won't matter what the size of the door is-you'll be able to find one that will fit it.
Potential Savings: 5-10% on your energy bill
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Installing storm doors is a great way to improve the energy efficiency of your home while also protecting it from bad weather.
With the proper tools and a little guidance, you can install a storm door yourself in only in a couple of hours.
Regardless of what type of climate you live in, having an additional layer between you and the elements is always beneficial.
Potential Savings: 5% on your energy bill
Curtains are an often-overlooked tool when it comes to interior design. While they may serve to provide privacy, they can also be used to warm up and pull together a room.
Not only do they look sophisticated, but their weight also helps trap the sunlight, significantly adding more insulation and increasing a home's warmth during a cold day. Or use blackout curtains to stop heat from coming in.
Potential Savings: 10-25% on your energy bill
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Installing reflectic plastic film on windows is a great way to reduce the sun's heat-generating rays during the summer, keeping the space in your home cooler and reducing your air conditioning costs.
Reflective film can come in different hues to enhance privacy or block out direct sunlight and glare. It's also relatively easy to install yourself, with no gluing or tacking required.
To keep the warmth in during winter months shrink window film is a great material to insulate your house at a low cost.
Potential Savings: 10-20% on your energy bill
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Many homeowners often overlook the importance of filling gaps in electrical outlets. In fact a lot of air leakage ocurs within outlets and light switches.
Spray foam insulation is a simple, cost-effective solution that can help protect the integrity of any electrical outlet. Not only does sealing up these wall openings make it harder for air leaks to occur, it also creates a strong barrier for pests and insects.
Potential Energy Savings: 5-20% on your energy bill
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Keeping moisture out of the house by caulking around dryer and bathroom vents is key to maintaining a healthy and safe home, not just for yourself but your family as well.
Not only does caulk prevent water from seeping in through small cracks or crevices, but it forms a barrier that can help stop air from leaking from the inside out.
In extreme cases, failure to caulk these areas can lead to major structural damage like warped floors or rampant mold growth.
Keeping up on caulking maintenance will protect your home from such undesirable consequences.
Potential Savings: 5% on your energy bill
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Adding foam board to patio doors is a great way to improve power efficiency in the home.
Foam panel or board insulation provides a strong, airtight seal that helps regulate temperatures inside the home more effectively. The material also ensures that no air-conditioned or heated air escapes while helping to eliminate drafts.
Additionally, installation is relatively straightforward and requires only basic tools such as scissors, a utility knife, and some adhesives.
Potential Savings: 10-25% on your energy bill
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Wrap an insulation blanket around the exterior of your water heater and benefit from improved efficiency thanks to reduced heat loss caused by conduction and convection.
Combined with proper maintenance throughout the year, this could help you save hundreds of dollars in energy costs over time. An insulated blanket is designed specifically for this kind of application and only takes a few minutes to install.
Potential Savings: 7%–16% on your energy bill
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If you want to make your home more energy efficient and comfortable, install an attic stairway insulator! By blocking the transfer of heat through the stair cover, this easy-to-install product will keep your warm air inside in winter and your cool air inside in summer.
This type of insulation for your attic does not cost much and is an easy way to insulate your house.
Potential Savings: up to 10% on your energy bill
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Fireplaces have been a staple of winter coziness for hundreds of years, but most people are unaware that not using a fireplace plug can dramatically lower their energy efficiency and even increase their heating and cooling costs.
A fireplace insulation plug acts as an airtight seal to prevent warm or cold air from escaping up the chimney, trapping heat in the house and keeping it comfortable.
Installing a fireplace insulating plug or blanket is quick, easy and inexpensive, making it an ideal choice for those looking to minimize their heating costs while still enjoying the look and feel of that classic wintertime chimney ambiance.
Potential Money Savings: up to 30% on your energy bill
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Adding insulation sleeves on your water heater pipes is a great way to make your dollar go further.
By adding insulation your pipes, heat that's typically lost during the cooling process is instead conserved, raising water temperature two to four degrees without consuming any extra energy.
This makes a difference when it comes to your heating costs (depending on where you live), as well as providing a drop in energy consumption in the long run.
It is always recommended to insulate your pipes if you live in colder climates.
Potential Savings: up to 10$ a year on your energy bill
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DIY attic insulation projects may sound like a great cost-saving idea, but they can quickly go wrong in many different ways. Questioning how much insulation you need or if you can do the interior walls are all signs you should speak to a professional.
If the home insulation fill is installed improperly, it can lead to areas of trapped moisture that could result in extensive damage to your roof or even walls covered with mold growth. Not to mention the dangers of inhaling particulate matter from fiberglass insulation,fiberglass batts, cellulose insulation or even breathing in chemicals from foam insulation.
These reasons make it worth spending the extra money on a professional when it comes to attic space insulation projects - their expertise and training mean that your project will be done correctly and efficiently, giving you peace of mind that your home is protected against future problems.
While there is no one-size-fits-all solution to keeping your home warm or cool and energy efficient, using some or all of these tips can help you see a noticeable decrease in your monthly energy bill.
Have you tried any of these tips in your own home? What were the results? Let us know in the comments below. Or read more here.
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