I live in a nice apartment. The living room, sun room, and kitchen is in an open area design. There are tall, wide windows in the sun room and two patio doors that lead to a deck (which I never use). One door is located in the sun room and the other is in the bedroom. I love the openness, but there is one problem with this setup. Cold, drafty air seeps in from the windows and door! I could run my furnace all day, but my electric bill (everything is electric in my apartment) can get pretty expensive! As I fretted about how to resolve this problem, a thought crossed my mind! There was something I'd stored in my closet that might help cut down on the air drafts - my son's camping pad!
Several years ago, when my son was a Boy Scout, his troop would go on frequent camping trips. One piece of equipment he needed was “the camping pad”. It's placed under a sleeping bag for insulation and protection from the cold, moist air (notice I didn't say “comfort”). So, we purchased an inexpensive blue camping pad - 20 inches wide, 72 inches long, and 5 inches thick. Because the pad is made of a durable “closed cell dense foam”, I thought it might be a pretty good insulator for my drafty patio doors and windows. Boy, was I ever right!! The foam pad was easy to measure and cut. It was flexible enough to press into the gaps of my doors (at the bottom) and windows that seep air. After, insulating (took less that 30 minutes), the air drafts were considerably reduced.
One of the doors that leads to the patio. I pressed this under the door edge to fill in the gap. I should have cut off some of the excess pad.
This is a strip I cut, from the blue foam, to fill in the gaps between my window and window sills.
The cut narrow strips pressed into my window gaps. This cut down considerably on seeping air.
(The blue camping pad comes rolled and can easily be straightened by laying something on it (like a book). It is made by Ozark Trails and I found mine at Walmart for less than $6.00. Of course, you can find other dense foam pads to serve the same purpose.
The Home Energy Diet: How to Save Money by Making Your House Energy-Smart (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series)
Cut Your Energy Bills Now: 150 Smart Ways to Save Money & Make Your Home More Comfortable & Green
Save Energy Save Money (Family Handyman)
Bye Bye Standby BBSBUSA Energy Saving Kit
Teach kids about energy sources and thinking "green":
Elenco Snap Circuits Green - Alternative Energy Kit
More information on saving energy: http://www.energystar.gov/
