4 Aspects of Your Home to Focus On if You Want To Make It Weather-Proof
As energy prices go up and the world is experiencing record high and low temperatures, it is important to weatherproof your home. Weatherproofing a home makes it easier to heat and cool using less energy. The cost of weatherproofing a home is soon recouped in lower heating and cooling bills. One way to improve a home and its energy efficiency is to replace an old roof. There are 4 main ways to weatherproof your home.
1. Why Replacing a Roof Saves Energy
An old worn-out roof can leak, causing damage to the interior walls and ceilings of a home. It also can let more of the sun’s heat into the home as it gets older, providing less of a barrier.
When you choose a long-lasting roofing material such as metal roofing, you save energy, materials, and labor. Metal roofs can last up to three times as long as asphalt composite shingles. Companies such as Erie Metal Roofing have an interesting new roofing product that takes metal roofing one step further into the future. Metal roofing panels do not have to look like flat metal with ridges anymore, they can look like shingles with a special stamping technology. They have better finishes and more color choices than ever before.
There are new coatings for metal roofing that have more earth tone colors and more resistance to UV rays and storm damage. These roofs are more expensive to purchase and have installed but they make up for the cost by lasting much longer. Since labor is a big part of the cost of a roof, that means even more money saved over the years.
2. Weatherproof Your Doors and Windows
You can be losing a lot of energy through your old doors and windows. Older windows may be damaged, single pane, and ill-fitting. All of these problems allow heat to escape in the winter and cold to seep into the home in the form of drafts. Older single-pane windows and broken windows should be replaced with new energy-efficient double or triple pane windows that are properly installed to avoid gaps around them. You can also make windows and doors more energy efficient by installing weather stripping around them.
In some homes, people can install storm windows on the exterior to add another layer of protection. On the inside of old windows, you can install honeycomb cellular window shades to keep cold air and drafts out.
3. Look To the Attic
The attic is another place to make improvements for energy savings. Check for leaks in the attic roof and patch them. Add venting where needed. Increase the level of insulation if there is not enough there. Attics can be real energy wasters. Don’t forget the basement or crawl space in your home. They also need to be insulated.
4. Get a Programmable Thermostat and Upgrade HVAC
Save more energy by having all heating and cooling devices cleaned and serviced every year. Consider replacing older units with new, more energy-efficient units. Invest in energy-saving programmable thermostats. They can save a homeowner up to $200.00 per year in heating costs. HVAC equipment in good condition is more efficient and uses less energy.
Since many of us are not experts in weatherproofing homes, it might be a good investment to have a representative from your local energy company come to your home and do an energy audit. The report will guide you in your efforts to use less energy and have a more comfortable home.