How weatherstripping your windows and doors will save greenhouse gases and money.

Why doors and windows need weatherstripping.

Unsealed windows and doors are like having a hole in a rainwater tank. The water, or in this case heat, flows out and after a short while there is none left, leaving you cold. In summer the heat flows the other way, leaving you hot. Most modern windows recognise this and have built in window seals. However many doors are not sealed, often with a large gap (typically around 10 mm) at the bottom. In older homes, the windows are often not sealed, particularly those with timber or steel frames. (Examples include timber sash windows or double hung windows and hopper or casement windows.)

In fact the gaps around a typical door are about the same total size as a house brick. If you have two outside doors, this is equivalent to two bricks missing from your walls. You wouldn't expect a home with two bricks missing to keep you warm in winter or cool in summer. It is no wonder that in a poorly sealed home heat loss from window and door gaps is about 12% of total heat loss.

Worse still, in winter cold draughts from under doors come in at floor level, and because cold air sinks, stays at floor level to freeze your toes. Furthermore, because draughts in windy weather can be quite strong, you can get an effect like wind chill. This reduces comfort even more, and encourages you to set the heater to a higher temperature. Every degree warmer you keep the room means using up to 10% more energy (on top of the 12% directly lost through the gaps).

Why aren't houses built with good seals on windows and doors?

Although it is clear that houses should have good seals on doors and windows, historically that has not always been the case. Until energy efficiency regulations came into play, leaks of enerrgy from the home weren't considered important by builders, because people didn't realise there was a problem until after they had been living in the home for a year and realised that all the money they were spending on heating and cooling wasn't achieving comfort. So if you are living in a house more than a few years old you can increase your comfort while saving money and improving the environment by properly weatherstripping your home.

Door and window weatherstrip payback.

Weatherstripping is relatively inexpensive, and normally pays for itself in less than a year. Imagine you and your family feeling comfortable while the wind howls outside or the sun beats down. You can get this and reduce greenhouse gases effectively for free!

How to choose door and window seals.

DIY weatherstripping (sometimes called weatherstrip, weather stripping, draft excluders or draught excluders) is available. Weatherstripping is available to suit most window types. Not all weatherstripping is created equal. For example some weatherstripping has paper backing rather than plastic backing. The paper backing tends to tear. You don't need much imagination to see yourself picking at the annoying paper backing and getting finger prints all over the adhesive. The grease from your fingers then reduces the stickiness, potentially reducing the life of the product.

Another problem with choosing and buying weatherstripping, is that it can be very confusing standing in front of a display in a hardware store trying to work out what to buy. If you find out you need more information to make the decision, or they are out of stock of the type you need, you have wasted the trip. The table below is a better way to choose the right Raven weatherstripping for your home, in the comfort of your own home:

Choose the right door or window weatherstripping to suit the type of window or door.

What problem can be solved by the window or door seal?

Buy quality Raven door and window weatherstripping now on line to save time. (This opens the shoppingcart in a new window so you can flick back and forth to check you have the right part number.)