I grew up in a time and place when many folks didn't lock their doors during the day. In fact, in my early years, my parents only locked the front door at night, but not the back or side door. Times have changed. Today, I keep doors locked all day.
But now I have another reason to keep my doors bolted -- a better seal against the weatherstripping resulting in better heat retention in winter.
Weatherstripping in the door frame is an inexpensive upgrade for sealing out drafts. However, the weatherstripping doesn't do its job if the door itself isn't held tightly closed against it. All of our exterior doors have both the knob lock (in the knob itself) and a deadbolt. On about half the doors, the knob lock doesn't hold the door tightly against the frame. But when I use the deadbolt on those doors, I get that super tight seal.
I was researching what we can actually do for free to help keep our heating costs down this winter. In addition to using the deadbolt during the day as well as at night, the following ideas can all be incorporated for absolutely free to help keep heating costs reasonable:
- using old fashioned draft snakes for doors and windows (can be as simple as rolled up towels or quilts)
- opening curtains at dawn and closing them at dusk
- closing off unused rooms
- removing window screens on south-facing windows for the winter (window screens block some passive solar heat)
- vacuum heat registers/vents
- keep extra throws and warm clothing/accessories in strategic places in the house
What I like about these free and low-tech ways to keep heat bills in check is all of these can be done whether you own or rent your home. I also like that I can do any or all of these on a moment's notice. I don't need to find money in the budget or make an appointment with a contractor. I can impact our bills right now. Of course, these are all small efforts towards a larger budget item. But lots of small amounts together will add up.
