by Lisa M LaVergne

Created on: October 24, 2008   Last Updated: November 08, 2010

When most people think of home insulation, they think of fuzzy pink fibers lining their attic. While having good insulation in your attic and walls is important for energy efficiency, there are many other ways that you can insulate other areas of your home as well.

Making your home more energy efficient will not only help to save money, it will help keep your home climate controlled as well. Your house will stay warmer in the winter, and cooler in the summer. You will find that you need to run your heating and cooling units less, which will help to save energy and make your home more fuel efficient.

Weatherstripping. Adding weatherstripping to your doors and windows is an excellent way to help improve the energy efficiency of your home. Weatherstripping is relatively inexpensive and can be applied in minutes. There are different grades and sizes of weatherstripping available, so you should choose one that will work best for the area you are insulating to ensure it is most effective.

Insulate your hot water heater. Using a hot water heater jacket can also help to improve energy efficiency in your home. These jackets are extremely inexpensive and can save you a ton of money. They are also very easy to install. Hot water heater jackets help to reduce the amount of heat lost through the walls of your hot water heater tank, which helps keeps the water hot and reduces the amount of energy your hot water tank will burn trying to keep the water at a high temperature.

Insulate your water pipes. Pre-made pipe insulation can be purchased quite cheaply and is easy to install on your water pipes. It will not only help to keep water in hot water pipes hot, but will also help to prevent water in your cold water pipes from freezing should the temperature drop too far.

Decorate your walls. Yes, I said decorate your walls! Using decorative blankets or rugs to decorate your walls will help to add an extra layer of insulation to your home and help keep warm air in and cold air out. Furthermore, even placing heavy furniture such as bookcases and armoires against the wall can help to add insulation. Place heavy drapes over already weatherstripped windows, and you can guarantee that no cold air will be getting through!

There are of course many other ways to help improve the energy efficiency in your home, but these tips will help to improve your homes heating and cooling efficiency which can help save money and keep your home at a temperature you can live with!

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