Quote:
Originally Posted by cholcombe
I'm going to wait until Feb and look at my Jan heating bill and see what that looks like. I think after that it might be worth getting a quote for an insulation upgrade. From what you guys are indicating it sounds like the house needs it.
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Yes, retaining the heat you have is the best strategy no matter what your heat source.
Infiltration (air leakage) is almost always the number one heat loss. There have been a lot of excellent posts regarding reducing infiltration on EcoRenovator. There's plenty more great information elsewhere, too.
If you can create a mild vacuum on the house, and go around suspected leak areas with an incense stick, that can tell you a lot. Daox came up with a great plan, by turning on all of the air extractors at once (bathroom fan, kitchen fan, etc). He found that was able to produce enough vacuum to make the smoke source deflect. Cans of Great Stuff foam are very useful for sealing the leaks you find.
I also wanted to mention that some of our folks have had good luck with a Black & Decker heat leak detector.
Thermal Leak Detector | BLACK+DECKER
Reducing air leaks is the single best start.
I'm sure you will hear other good ideas here, too.
Best,
-AC