My winterization plans.

RobertSmalls · 09-28-09, 10:08 PM

It's a little cold and very windy in Buffalo today, and that got me thinking about the coming heating season. My plan for winterizing is fourfold. One, reduce the amount of space I will condition. Two, stop the house from leaking appreciable air. Three, inspect the attic and decide what to do up there. Four, set the thermostat lower.

I rent the upper apartment in an 80 year old double. The downstairs tennants aren't very frugal, and they kindly provide me with a small amount of free radiant floor heating. I'm hoping to last until the snow starts falling without turning on the furnace.

Since I might not live here next year, any improvements I make must either pay for themselves in a season, or must make a lasting improvement that future tennants will leave in place.

My 700 ft² home is larger than I need. I've set up a dining room table in the kitchen, and couches in the dining room. That leaves me free to seal off the living room and the second bedroom, bringing me down to 440ft² of living space, plus 160ft² of unconditioned storage space.

There's a 4'x7' archway leading into the living room. I think I'll just tack up a 4'x8' sheet of foil-backed foam board, or something with a good R-value, over the archway. Then I need to find a poster or large map or something to hide it. For sealing off the spare bedroom, I don't need to do anything more elaborate than sealing the heating duct with window plastic, closing the door, and laying a rug against the bottom of the doorway. I'll record temperatures inside and outside the room once furnace season starts.

My windows are old and leak badly, so I'll put plastic over all of them, then try to depressurize the house to find smaller leaks. Hopefully, this will be a relatively small job, since I don't plan to do the basement, leaks from the lower apartment are welcome, and I don't know of any wires or pipes that enter the attic.

The third prong of the plan is to inspect the attic and see what's what. Nobody's been up there for years, so I expect it to be an unclean, unhealthy place to be. If it's uninsulated, will it be worthwhile to lay down fiberglass? How thick?

Finally, lowering the thermostat. There's more to it than just turning down the heat. I plan to learn to live with as low of temperatures as possible. Last year we had the thermostat set to 62°F. This year, maybe I'll try an electric matress pad and 60°F at night. Eliminating drafts will permit lower temperatures, too.

I wonder how much energy I'd save by turning the furnace off for eight hours when I go to work. I have a few simple mods in mind for a two-wire thermostat, and maybe I'll try some of them out.

As far as a timetable, I'll inspect the attic this weekend, but the rest will have to wait until the windows are closed for the season.

So there's the plan for this winter. Did I overlook anything important?

09-28-09, 10:08 PM	#1
RobertSmalls Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: May 2009 Location: Buffalo, NY Posts: 344 Thanks: 3 Thanked 17 Times in 15 Posts	My winterization plans. It's a little cold and very windy in Buffalo today, and that got me thinking about the coming heating season. My plan for winterizing is fourfold. One, reduce the amount of space I will condition. Two, stop the house from leaking appreciable air. Three, inspect the attic and decide what to do up there. Four, set the thermostat lower. I rent the upper apartment in an 80 year old double. The downstairs tennants aren't very frugal, and they kindly provide me with a small amount of free radiant floor heating. I'm hoping to last until the snow starts falling without turning on the furnace. Since I might not live here next year, any improvements I make must either pay for themselves in a season, or must make a lasting improvement that future tennants will leave in place. My 700 ft² home is larger than I need. I've set up a dining room table in the kitchen, and couches in the dining room. That leaves me free to seal off the living room and the second bedroom, bringing me down to 440ft² of living space, plus 160ft² of unconditioned storage space. There's a 4'x7' archway leading into the living room. I think I'll just tack up a 4'x8' sheet of foil-backed foam board, or something with a good R-value, over the archway. Then I need to find a poster or large map or something to hide it. For sealing off the spare bedroom, I don't need to do anything more elaborate than sealing the heating duct with window plastic, closing the door, and laying a rug against the bottom of the doorway. I'll record temperatures inside and outside the room once furnace season starts. My windows are old and leak badly, so I'll put plastic over all of them, then try to depressurize the house to find smaller leaks. Hopefully, this will be a relatively small job, since I don't plan to do the basement, leaks from the lower apartment are welcome, and I don't know of any wires or pipes that enter the attic. The third prong of the plan is to inspect the attic and see what's what. Nobody's been up there for years, so I expect it to be an unclean, unhealthy place to be. If it's uninsulated, will it be worthwhile to lay down fiberglass? How thick? Finally, lowering the thermostat. There's more to it than just turning down the heat. I plan to learn to live with as low of temperatures as possible. Last year we had the thermostat set to 62°F. This year, maybe I'll try an electric matress pad and 60°F at night. Eliminating drafts will permit lower temperatures, too. I wonder how much energy I'd save by turning the furnace off for eight hours when I go to work. I have a few simple mods in mind for a two-wire thermostat, and maybe I'll try some of them out. As far as a timetable, I'll inspect the attic this weekend, but the rest will have to wait until the windows are closed for the season. So there's the plan for this winter. Did I overlook anything important?