Keeping the Cold Out ith the heating system in good shape, the lights turned off in unoccupied rooms and the water heater set lower; we can turn our attention to sealing up the house.

Windows
For older single pane windows the best choice is replacement with new insulated units designed to fit in the same rough opening. For our climate, double-pane windows should be sufficient, though triple-pane and gas filled units are another consideration. Applying foam cell tape on the joints or shrink wrap plastic on the inside of existing windows is the next best thing, though the window will be unusable for the season. Perhaps a better alternative is to select insulated window treatments to greatly eliminate drafts.

Doors
Again, replacement with a new insulated door is the best solution, but the addition of a good quality storm door will serve the same purpose. If neither of these is in the current budget, the most common leak point is along the bottom so something as simple as blocking the draft under the door with a commercially available sweep or even a beach towel will help.

Garage Door Threshold Weatherstrip

Walls and Ceiling
Adding insulation above the ceiling is the more important of these choices and one that most homeowners can undertake on their own with proper guidance from the insulation makers - new formulations even reduce the "itch" factor considerably. "Blown in" products are applied by professionals, as are other retrofit products for both the walls and ceiling. Doing the ceiling yourself, then calling in a professional for the walls may not be cost-efficient, it would be better to get an estimate for the whole job first for comparison.

More Tips
The U.S. Department of Energy has constructed a complete series of "Energy Savers" covering all the above topics and more.