Get ready for winter

Find the air leaks

If you’re planning any renovations, you can increase your home’s energy efficiency at the same time, particularly when it comes to reducing air leaks and improving thermal insulation. Apart from these improvements, performing regular seasonal maintenance on your home can also help reduce your electricity bill in the winter months.

Did you know that:

• Warm air leaks and cold air infiltrations can account for up to 25% of a home’s heat loss. The heat that escapes through your home’s building envelope, such as the roof, walls, on-grade floors, as well as windows and window frames, makes up 75% of total heat losses.

Before winter arrives, we recommend that you inspect your home and carry out any required maintenance to limit air leaks.

• Caulk and weatherstrip your drafty windows and doors.
  • You can choose to apply removable seasonal caulking. This transparent caulking is applied with a caulking gun around the window frame or doorframe, and if the band is big enough, it can be removed easily in the spring.
• Check your weatherstripping regularly to stop drafts and keep the warm air in.
  • Replace your weatherstripping on your doors and windows when necessary, including in the garage, as well as on the hatch to the roof space. Weatherstripping placed at the bottom of frequently used doors needs to be replaced more frequently.
• For windows you don’t intend to open, install a removable plastic shrink film if you notice drafts and if replacing the weatherstripping is too difficult during the heating season. In addition to reducing air leaks around the window frames, the plastic film will reduce heat losses through the glass by creating an air space.
• Install outlet covers or insulating foam sealers behind the cover plates of outlets and light switches to cut down on heat loss through the exterior walls.
• Seal any gaps around pipe penetration points and duct vents.
• Clean the flaps on the exhaust vents of ventilation devices (range hood, bathroom fan, air exchanger) and dryers to ensure they open and close correctly and replace them with better quality models if necessary.