Are you wondering if your home isn’t fully insulated and all that hard earned money is going out the window when you turn the thermostat up? The 1st thing you can do is have your furnace checked. The heated air in your home could be escaping though faulty weather-stripping around windows, cracks under doors, or poor insulation around pipes. While proper insulation in your walls is still key (around 31 percent of all heat in your home is lost through the walls and ceiling), there are lots of small things you can do to boost your home’s energy efficiency. Here’s a quick list of places to check for air leakage:

Recessed lights, wiring, and plumbing: Consider adding specialty spray foam insulation to seal gaps behind the wall near outlets and plumbing fixtures.

Windows and doors: Seal any cracks around your window frames with indoor caulk and add weather-stripping around door frames to create a seal against the cold air.

The Energy Department estimates that with proper weatherization and insulation, you can reduce your home’s heating and cooling use by as much as 30 percent. See this guide from The Washington Post for more specifics on how you can increase your home’s energy efficiency.

With our team at A Better Home Inspection, we’ve been your neighborhood home inspection company since 1988. Our staff have helped many California homeowners maintain their houses – Please call us at 760-805-1966 and schedule today!