Air sealing!!!!
 

One of the biggest engery wasters in houses is leaks. Most houses are very leaky. The older your house, the more leaky it is likely to be. The cost of sealing is pretty low, but it can be time consuming.

The mian expenses are things like silicone caulk, expanding foam, insulation, etc.

I pulled off the trim around all my windows and doors, and sealed between the frame and drywall. I sealed around all the outlets. I replaced some of the seals in doors and windows. I went around the outside of the house and seal under the siding where it overhangs the foundation. Around pipes and cables entering the house. Anywhere I thought air might be coming in or going out.

I had had a blower door test before and after, and manage to reduce the leaks by about 1/3rd. I have done sealing since then.

I have also done stuff like programmable thermostats, CFL lighting almost completely through the house, motion senser lights in the garage (this can be a little annoying when are out of their line of sight). I also insulated a kneewall. All these things add up.

But the air sealing of the house has made the biggest impact to our energy costs. And it really didn't cost a lot of money to do it.

Yup. Think of it as an upside down swimming pool of heat.

I'll second that.

I've spent lots and lots on sealing up the house however mine was SUPER leaky.

I've wondered if there is a DIY fan test . . . . . anybody rigged something up?

I can still get a solid breeze out of a door on a windy day. (was higher than wind speed before LOL)

Many electric companies will come out and do free energy audits. I had one done last winter and he used a thermal camera to document where I was losing energy. I have it on CD. I'll see if I can find it and upload it somewhere to be seen. It's cool.

when I was younger,a repairman came to work on our heating system.He made a comment to my mother about weatherstripping.She didn't think it was an issue.He said,you have three doors.Each has a perimeter of about 20 linear feet.If you had a 1/8 inch gap around each door,it would be equivalent to a 3-inch diameter circular hole in your wall,large enough to shove your hand through.At that moment my mom and I just looked at each other,he had made his point.

awesome I'm going to use that argument a lot now