Heating is essential during the winter months, but there are a lot of places in your home that heat can escape. An experienced Cincinnati air conditioning company will be able to help you diagnose where the heating is escaping your home, but there are a few very common places that you can look without having to pay a professional. Heating can get expensive and there is no reason to make your power bill spike due to lost heating inside your home. Here are the top 4 ways to keep heat from escaping from your home.

Step 1: 1. Weather Stripping Doors

Weather stripping is an excellent way to keep heat from escaping from your home. When the temperature changes outside the wood on the door can contract. This leaves small holes and crack underneath the doorframe and the trim. These cracks are a very big source of heat escaping from your home. Apply the weather stripping and close the door so it seals the cracks. Using weather stripping to seal the cracks under your doors and around the trim can keep the heat inside your house without costing you an arm and a leg.

Step 2: 2. Replacing Windows

Windows are another source of lost heat. Having the right windows in your home can easily keep the heat inside during the winter and the air conditioning inside during the summer. While replacing windows is costly, it can pay for itself in the lowering of your power bill. Check with a local window company to talk about double pane windows and other solutions for lost heat inside your home. If you don’t’ want to completely replace your windows, check the caulking between the pains and the window trim. This caulk can go bad quickly, allowing heat to escape.

Step 3: 3. Duct Leaks

A major source of heating loss is when a duct is either cracked or it isn’t sealed properly. While this may be harder to diagnose than a window with cracked caulk, it can help you save a lot of money. You can usually hear a leak in your ductwork from a swishing or windy sound. Go into your basement or attic and listen for the swooshing sound. This will signify if you have a leak. Use duct tape to seal the leak and then apply an epoxy to the tape surface. This will completely seal the leak and save you money. When a duct is leaking your entire heating system goes out of balance. Make sure that you check the leak and call a professional if it’s too much to handle.

Step 4: 4. Attics

Attics can be another source of heat loss. If you have an attic with a pull down ladder, make sure that the trim around the ladder is sealed. When this trim is not sealed, air can escape through the cracks throwing off the equilibrium of the home. This leak of air leads to the heating system constantly having to pump heat into the house. Seal the cracks with a caulk or weather stripping for best results.

Charles Dovbish is a freelance writer that specializes in home improvement and DIY.

Image Credit: Weather Stripping, Windows Duct Attics