Hellobee Boards

Yes, right away we caulked some areas around doors and windows that were leaking air. We also insulated our hot water heater and some of the pipes (it's hard to reach the others...we have insulation tubes for them but haven't made the effort to put them on yet). Later on, we added insulation in the attic and put interior storm windows in the bedrooms. We'll do the living room at some point too, but we have HUGE windows (really cool vintage ones we don't want to change) and it's going to cost bank. Finally, we replaced the door between our house and garage, which was horrible.

We still have a lot to do, but at least we know what our priorities are. The auditor really wanted us to replace our oil furnace but it's going to be really complicated and expensive (our street doesn't have a gas line so we'd have to run one, and the quote for the other option of a heat pump was just crazy). So right now we're concentrating on adding insulation where we can, plugging air leaks, and then updating some old appliances. The "baby steps" approach is better for us.

So far, adding attic insulation was a fantastic decision -- even with me being home all day while on maternity leave and keeping the house warmer than before because we had a newborn, we're still on track for it to pay for itself in heating cost savings after two more winters (so three years total). And the house hasn't gotten quite as hot this summer.

@locavore_mama: our local electric and utility company run a program. It wasn't free, I think they subsidized 75% of the cost and we paid $95 out of pocket.

What is an energy audit?

@locavore_mama: yeah, it's kind of amazing! We knew where a lot of our issues were but there are always things you don't think of. The coolest thing was the blower door test, where they hook up a huge fan contraption in your doorway and calculate the rate of air leakage. You can walk around your house and run your hand around door frames, window frames, outlets on exterior walls, etc and feel exactly where air is flowing in. We went around with a roll of blue painters tape to mark the areas we needed to caulk so we didn't forget any.

@Smurfette: I'm not that great at explaining things: http://energy.gov/public-services/homes/home-weatherization/home-energy-audits

But basically a professional comes in and audits how efficient your home is. From window leaks to equipment to how well insulated your home is.

@locavore_mama: @autumnlove: Interesting. Never heard of that.