Winter in New Jersey

If you haven’t noticed by now Old Man Winter is slowly getting out of bed, cold weather is upon us.  Winter, thought late, is arriving and temperatures are falling throughout the State.  If you live in a typical home your windows need to be closed and locked to keep the heat in and the cold out.  You can improve on this by installing honeycombed shades or heavy cloth drapes.  The more you can reduce the ability of air to move towards your windows the more energy efficient your home becomes. If your older homes has single paned windows, make sure your storm windows are closed to reduce drafts.  Check the caulking along the exterior frame of the window for cracking or improvements. If you have updated, double paned windows, check that the upper sash is up so your lock can work properly.  Unfortunately windows are the worst insulators in the home.  A typical wall without insulation has an r-value of say r-4, and insulated wall can be r-11 to r-19 or more.  The typical two paned )2 sheets of glass with an air pocket) window or single pane with storm has an r-value of r-2.  By comparison an open window has an r-value of zero.  Insulation helps keep heat in your home by reducing the ability of air to move, thereby reducing heat loss.  The higher the r-value the slower air movement the more heat retention.  Radiators and supply vents are commonly found near windows on the exterior walls of the house, because this is the cooler area of the room.  Smaller windows are more energy efficient that bigger windows.