Baby It’s COLD Outside!

We don’t need Dean Martin crooning the classic holiday song to remind us it is cold outside. My daughter is living in an old home that is always cold. Recently we went shopping for weatherizing materials to keep the heat in and cold out. This reminded me of the old Amana Society house we restored during graduate school. We had an annual ritual of putting plastic up on all the windows and stuffing rubber weather-stripping caulk into drafty spaces. Now that we live in a newer home, I still find myself weatherizing. It has made a difference in home energy costs. If you are looking for ideas to winterize your home, check out the many resources available at the Library.

The book Spend-A-Little Save–A-Lot Home Improvements: Money-Saving Projects Anyone Can Do by Brad Staggs is a great place to start. Chapter 3 is dedicated to saving energy and includes information about insulating and weather-sealing. The chapter begins with a practical discussion about where and why air leeks occur.

Although not dedicated to winterizing ideas, Do-It-Yourself Home Energy Audits by David Findley shares many good ideas divided between free, low-cost, and large renovation projects. Suggestions are practical and well-explained. Findley advocates for sealing all openings to and from your home, including cracks, seals, door frames, cable installations, and other opening into your home.

Family Handyman magazine has articles about energy efficiency and winterizing projects. The magazine is available for checkout from the Library’s Magazine area on the first floor and as an eMagazine digital checkout via RB Digital. The October 2016 edition has a list of 10 projects to complete before winter. The November/December 2016 edition of This Old House magazine has a an article called “Stop Winter Drafts.” It is also available as a digital magazine via RB Digital.

The Library also has locally produced online videos about energy conservation that you may watch at home. These include two Eco Iowa City programs with helpful suggestions for preparing your home for winter. In Energy Efficiency in your Home, John O'Roake, Energy Efficiency Manager at MidAmerican, offers energy savings tips and ways to heat and cool your home efficiently. Bob Yapp shares information about winterizing windows in Preserving Old Windows.

Make your house cozy and warm this winter with help from the collections at Iowa City Public Library.