Instant Energy Saving Tip – Stop Air From Sneaking Under the Door
Stop That Air from Sneaking Under the Door, Conserve Power and Save Money.
by Don Ames
Saving power and money at home means separating the outdoors from the indoors. In a warm climate, the goal is to have the air conditioner run as little as possible. In a cold climate, to have the furnace run as little as possible. Unless you live in Hawaii or the Canary Islands, heating and cooling your house is the number one power user in the home. Control of your heating and cooling needs is having control over your power bill.
To lower your monthly power bill, you need to focus on three things.
- Separating the outside environment from the inside environment.
- Use high efficiency equipment to heat and cool and to provide hot water.
- Adjust your lifestyle to take advantage of air sealing, insulation and high efficient appliances and other energy efficient measures you have available.
The only place you can have an air leak is where there is a hole in your homes air barrier. These holes are almost always man made. Two of the larger holes in your home share the same location as the front and back doors. Doors are two of the larger holes in the air barrier. The doors have the responsibility to plug these large holes. They have a big job to keep the outdoor environment out and still open and shut effectively every time a person needs to come or go.
Tip: Storm doors can be an advantage in helping to effectively seal and weatherize an exterior door.
Have you ever watched a cowboy movie where the hero fights his way through the snow and cold and finally reaches an old shack sitting on a high plateau somewhere. He staggers his way through the howling wind and struggles with the wood plank door as the wind whips snow inside the cabin. Final shutting the door against the wind pressure, the cowboy let’s loose with a sigh of relief knowing he is now protected and will soon be toasty warm. He steps away from the door and clearly visible behind him is large strips of light that are shinning through the full length of the door. Every board the door is made out of is noticeable because of the large gap between the boards. How do you effectively warm up a cabin if there are so many air holes that are so big right in the front door. This has always bothered me. Why couldn’t the old cabins be built by someone who could notice a large gap between the boards in the door? Little house on the prairie was actually little drafty house on the prairie.
Exterior doors often have a gap between the bottom of the door and the threshold or footplate that allows air to pass through. Sometimes we don’t even need to get down on our hands and knees to see the light on the other side of the door.
Here is a couple ways to seal up the gap under the door.
1. Some door casings are made with an adjustable piece attached to the threshold that is directly under the door. An allen wretch or phillips screw driver is used to adjust the set screws that are visible on the surface of the adjustable piece. Usually made out of oak wood or plastic, the threshold piece can be adjusted up so it is closer to the bottom of the door.
2. Some exterior doors have a metal piece that fits over the bottom of the door that holds a rubber sweep that is designed to seal the air gap at the threshold. Screws on one side of the metal piece hold it in place. Some times you can loosen the screws and slide the metal flange with the rubber sweep down so it will close the gap between the door and the threshold.
3. The rubber sweep attached to the metal flange on the bottom of the door becomes damaged and is not affective. Sometimes you can remove the metal flange and replace just the rubber sweep.
If the above repair procedures are not possible or look a little beyond your mechanical instincts, you can try a neat new weatherstripping product that is on the market. Very similar to throwing an old towel down on the floor and stuffing it under the door, this new weatherstripping product can be effective and far more high tech than an old towel.
Commercially, it is called the Twin Draft Guard – an insulating device for doors and windows. During the fall and winter, you will see the T.V. ads for the Twin Draft Guard a lot. Before you whip out your credit card and order one by phone or on-line, please keep the following tips in mind.
1. I recommend you purchase the Twin Guard or similar product from your favorite hardware or variety store. If you order one and it is shipped to you the styrofoam pieces are packaged bend over and do not straighten out real well.
2. Out of the package, the Twin Guard does not necessarly fit every door. I disagree with the ads on this one. You will need to find a way to adjust the length of the material between the two side rolls that hold the styrofoam. Wide doors work better unless you make adjustments.
3. To get an effective fit, you may need to replace the styrofoam rolls with larger material. The hardware store should carry styrofoam for insulating around pipes in varius sizes. The firmer the styrofoam the better.
4. Fill the center of the styrofoam pipe insulation with rice. Makes the sweep heavier and stiffer which can add to the weatherstripping effectiveness.
5. You may need to staple or tack the guard in place. Sometimes the roll slides out a little each time the door is opened.
6. Make your own. This allows you to use heavier cloth material and to set the distance between the two rolls according to your door width. Also allows you adjust the size of the rolls and to fit them to the round tube of styrofoam. ( Or rice or beans etc. Remember, if you use beans and the weather is moist, you may start to grow a bean crop right there at your front door.)
Well, I hope you have asked the cowboy to step away from the door so you can see the gap under the door better. Air sealing is an important part of controlling your power use and your energy bill. Hope this article has been helpful and I hope you will come back to Detect Energy soon, but hurry, because I won’t leave the light on for you…Don Ames