How Your Neighbors Made the Switch
Story #1: A Renter in a Drafty Single-Family Home
This Brookline resident has lived with her family in a rented single-family home for over ten years. The landlord is out of state and has not been particularly interested in updating the house to make it more energy efficient. Since the renter pays the utilities, keeping the home as comfortable as possible in the winter, while saving energy, is important and they’ve taken some steps that have helped.
When the landlord needed to improve the heating and hot water system, he had MassSave perform a free energy assessment in hopes of getting a discount on the installation, but the assessment found knob and tube wiring that would need to be replaced and the landlord didn’t take the project further.
So the renter and her family have focused on doing what they can do themselves to make the space more comfortable, especially in winter when the old, leaky windows – even some with storm windows –cause drafts. There is a single thermostat on the first floor for the whole house. Since heat rises, the first floor can be quite cold while the top floor gets too warm – a real waste of energy. They decided that one strategy would be to trap the heat on the first floor as much as possible. Another would be to make their windows less drafty.
What have they done to keep the first floor warmer?
- They’ve installed a heavy curtain at the foot of the stairs to the second floor. This can keep at least some of the heat from rising up the staircase.
- They keep the bedroom doors closed on the upper floors.
- They made a theater curtain to hang between the dining room and the living room. This helps keep the heat in the living room.
What have they done for the leaky windows?
- They shrink-wrapped the seven windows on the first floor with window insulating kits that provide sheets of plastic and double-sided tape. They’ve tried several different brands, including 3M and Frost King, both of which have worked well. They comment that the double stick tape needs to be high quality and the windows need to be clean before installing the sheeting, otherwise the sheeting may not stay in place and the leaks will persist.
- They weatherstripped all 26 windows in the home. They also weatherstripped along the bottoms of their outside doors.
It’s work that needs to be done before each winter season and it can be costly, but they’ve found that it makes a real difference both to their comfort and their heating costs.
YouTube has some videos that provide guidelines on shrink-wrapping windows. One good one is How to Insulate Windows.
Story #2: A Case Study from Rewiring America
Rewiring America has put together several case studies of families making changes to electrify their residences and how the Inflation Reduction Act from the Federal government can provide rebates and/or up-front discounts. The Guide, titled “Go Electric” provides everything you need to know to start using the electric bank account full of money you now have to electrify your household.
One case study focuses on a retired couple with a small income who are renting an apartment in Atlanta, Georgia – A retired Georgia couple electrify their apartment – which is on page 24 of the guide. While their decisions may not be relevant for all renters, the case study shows that renters can take steps to improve the comfort of their home and the climate too.
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