Decorations

-Switch to LED Christmas Lights. Christmas lights are a staple of the holidays and contribute most to high energy costs. LED Christmas lights use 90% less electricity than regular Christmas lights, and can be purchased for around $10 a strand. Want to learn more? LED holiday lights can reduce energy consumption and save you money. LED lights are more energy efficient than traditional lights, with the added benefits of being shatterproof, shock-resistant, and cool to the touch.

-Wait until dark to turn on your Christmas lights and then, turn them off before you go to bed. Six hours or less of daily use is a good goal to aim for. Do you have trouble remembering to turn your lights on and off? Then, set a timer, and forget about it. Using an automatic timer can optimize your energy savings, as you can customize the system to turn on and off at specific times of the day.

-Decorating your home with candles is a great way to bring in the season and reduce your reliance on electrical sources.

-Turn off room lights when tree is lit. The lights on your Christmas tree should provide more than enough lighting to navigate around the room.

Heating

-When entertaining, turning down the heat in your home can save money, as the reduction in temperature will be offset by guests giving off body heat.

-Use your fireplace to heat your home instead of your thermostat – just remember to close the flue and ensure that heat is not escaping through the fireplace when not in use.

-Check your HVAC Filters, Carbon Monoxide Detectors and make sure you have a fire extingusher to be safe.

-Guests and your family with allergy symptoms may benefit from having your Air Ducts professionally cleaned.

-Make sure your attic insulation is up to par for those cold areas of your home.

-Install a programmable thermostat.

Holiday Cooking

-Since many holiday main courses slow cook for hours, there is little need to preheat the oven.

-When checking the progress of food in the oven, use the oven light instead of opening the door. Every time you open the door, you can lower the oven temperature by as much as 25 degrees, which will waste both cooking time and energy. The same concept holds true when cooking on the stove: keeping the lid on pots can help reduce cooking time and energy usage.

-Have multiple items to cook? Let your oven do double duty; if you are able, bake multiple dishes at the same time.

-When cooking on the stove, consider the size of the pan you are using. For instance, using a six-inch pan on an eight-inch burner can result in a 40% energy loss.

-If applicable, use smaller appliances when cooking. This is especially true when it comes to reheating food – using a microwave instead of an oven reduces energy usage by 50% or more.

-To optimize the efficiency of your dishwasher, only run it with a full load.

-Purchasing new appliances? Make sure you check the Energy Star rating for best Energy saving tips this Holiday Season.

Shopping

-One of the Energy saving tips this Holiday Season to conserve energy during the holiday season is to shop online. If store shopping is more preferable, take extra steps to conserve energy – carpool, use mass transit, and purchase multiple items on your checklist in as few trips as possible.

-Buying local foods and goods not only supports your local economy, but ensures that transportation-related energy costs are minimal.

-Purchase gifts that are durable, energy efficient, recyclable, or made of natural products to reduce the need for these items to be constantly replaced.

-Thrift stores and antique shops are great places to find inexpensive and unique gifts, while reducing waste through reuse of products.

-Make a pledge to buy gifts that don’t use electricity or batteries and you can reduce expenses on batteries and electricity.

-If you purchase or receive gifts that require batteries, invest in rechargeable batteries and chargers to reduce waste and take advantage of Energy saving tips this Holiday Season.

-Purchase ENERGY STAR-certified electronics – TVs, Blu Ray/DVD players, computers, etc. These devices use up to 60% less electricity than non-certified electronics.

Take a Walk to See the Christmas Lights

Ultimately, there are many  Energy saving tips for this Holiday Season to reduce energy consumption this year. Taking the initiative to reduce energy usage will not only positively impact your finances, but it will also increas home’s comfort this year. Aladdin Insulation hopes that your family has a happy and healthy holiday season and that you take extra steps during this time of year to increase the comfort and reduce your home’s energy consumption.

Call 678-528-7115 or aladdinhomepros.com to get a free energy auditand provide Energy saving tips this Holiday Season!

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What makes it ENERGY STAR?

ENERGY STAR qualified, windows, doors, and skylights:

1 .Are manufactured by an ENERGY STAR partner,

2. Are independently tested, certified, and verified by the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC), and

3. Have NFRC ratings that meet strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Performance Criteria

Windows, doors and skylights protect you from the elements just like a winter coat. But like a winter coat, you should pick the windows, doors and skylights that make the most sense for your climate. While some windows, doors and skylights are better at keeping you warm, others excel at keeping you cool.

To find out more check out energy star at https://www.energystar.gov/products/building_products/residential_windows_doors_and_skylights/key_product_criteria

To recieve your free no obligation home energy analysis and free estimate call Aladdin Insulation and Home Improvements 678-528-7115 or visit us at aladdinhomepros.com

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SELECTING NEW EXTERIOR DOORS

New exterior doors often fit and insulate better than older types. If you have older doors in your home, replacing them might be a good investment, resulting in lower heating and cooling costs. If you’re building a new home, you should consider buying the most energy-efficient doors possible.

When selecting doors for energy efficiency, 2015 Energy Star Guidelines, it’s important to first consider their energy performance ratings in relation to the local climate and your home’s design. This will help narrow your selection.

TYPES OF DOORS

One common type of exterior door has a steel skin with a polyurethane foam insulation core. It usually includes a magnetic strip (similar to a refrigerator door magnetic seal) as weatherstripping. If installed correctly and not bent, this type of door needs no further weatherstripping.

The R-values of most steel and fiberglass-clad entry doors range from R-5 to R-6, not including the effects of a window. For example, a 1-1/2 inch (3.81 cm) thick door without a window offers more than five times the insulating value of a solid wood door of the same size.

Glass or “patio” doors, especially sliding glass doors, lose much more heat than other types of doors because glass is a very poor insulator. Most modern glass doors with metal frames have a thermal break, which is a plastic insulator between inner and outer parts of the frame. Models with several layers of glass, low-emissivity coatings, and/or low-conductivity gases between the glass panes are a good investment, especially in extreme climates. When buying or replacing patio doors, keep in mind that swinging doors offer a much tighter seal than sliding types.

It’s impossible to stop all the air leakage around the weatherstripping on a sliding glass door and still be able to use the door. In addition, after years of use the weatherstripping wears down, so air leakage increases as the door ages. If the manufacturer has made it possible to do so, you can replace worn weatherstripping on sliding glass doors.

INSTALLATION

When you buy a door, it will probably be pre-hung. Pre-hung doors usually come with wood or steel frames. You will need to remove an existing doorframe from the rough opening before you install a pre-hung door. The doorframe must be as square as possible, so that the door seals tightly to the jamb and swings properly.

Before adding the interior trim, apply expanding foam caulking to seal the new doorframe to the rough opening and threshold. This will help prevent air from getting around the door seals and into the house. Apply carefully, especially if the frame is wood, to avoid having the foam force the frame out of square.

If needed, you’ll also want to add weatherstripping. Check the weatherstripping on your exterior doors annually to see if it needs replacement.

STORM DOORS

Adding a storm door can be a good investment if your existing door is old but still in good condition. However, adding a storm door to a newer, insulated door is not generally worth the expense, because you won’t save much more energy.

Storm door frames are usually made of aluminum, steel, fiberglass, or wood (painted or not). Wooden storm doors require more maintenance than the other types. Metal-framed storm doors might have foam insulation inside their frames.

High-quality storm doors use low-emissivity (low-e) glass or glazing. Some doors have self-storing pockets for the glass in summer and an insect screen in winter. Some have fixed, full length screens and glass panels that slide out of the way for ventilation. Others are half screen and half glass, which slide past each other. Some are removable for cleaning, but others are not. All of these features add convenience and cost.

Never add a glass storm door if the exterior door gets more than a few hours of direct sun each day. The glass will trap heat against the entry door and could damage it.

Storm doors for patio doors are hard to find, but they are available. Adding one to a new, multi-glazed low-e door is seldom economic. Insulated drapes, when closed for the night in winter or on sunny days in summer, are also a good idea.

For more information about replacement Entry doors in the Atlanta area visit ua at aladdinhomepros.com or directly at 678-528-7115. 

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ProVia’s mission is to provide the best residential entry doors through the use of state-of-the-art production processes that offer unparalleled customization options to our customers. ProVia will lead the residential door industry in providing a professional-class product. The reason we believe we have the best entry doors? Our entry doors offer the highest standard in door construction, durability, security and beauty.

The post Aladdin offers The Best Entry Doors: Provia Lifetime Guarantee appeared first on Aladdin Insulation & Home Improvements.

The weatherstripping around an entry door seals the inside of the house against air drafts, insects and, at times, driving rain. A properly sealed door can also save on heating and cooling costs. Over time, the weather stripping can dry, shrink and crack. The door and doorjamb can also swell, contract and distort due to changing weather conditions. These will create small gaps between the door and the seal and require a new seal to be installed.

How to Weather Strip a Door

Instructions

1. Open the door and remove the original weatherstripping. If the weatherstripping is the sticky-backed foam variety, peel it away by hand, then scrape away the glue remnants with the putty knife. If the weatherstripping is metal or vinyl-backed and screwed to the doorjambs, remove the screws, then remove the sections of weatherstripping.

2. Remove the new weatherstripping sections from the packaging. There are usually three pieces: one for the top and one each for the left and right jambs. The strips are composed of a flat, aluminum or vinyl piece with a molded channel for a rubber or foam insert to slide into. The flat section will screw to the jambs, and the rubber or foam part is what does the sealing against the door.

3. Measure the inside dimension, between the vertical jambs, above the door. Transfer this measurement to the top weather stripping piece and mark it with a black marking pen. The top piece has multiple screw holes, and there must be at least one screw hole close to each edge of the strip. Therefore, if the piece must be cut, make the marks so that a screw hole will be close to each edge, even if it means a little must be cut from both ends, not just one.

4. Pull the rubber or foam seal out from its groove, then cut the aluminum or vinyl flat strip with a hacksaw. Deburr the edges with a metal file. Reinsert the rubber or foam into the groove, then trim the excess with a utility knife.

5. Close the door and ensure it latches shut. Place the top strip along the upper jamb, with the rubber or foam touching the door. The rubber or foam should be slightly compressed. Screw the strip to the upper doorjamb using the screws supplied with the kit.

6. Measure the vertical dimensions of the left and right jambs. Transfer the measurements to the weatherstrips and mark them with a black marking pen. The tops of the vertical jambs are cut so they fit the curve of the top piece, so make the marks at the opposite end.

7. Remove the rubber or foam inserts, then cut the flat strips with a hacksaw and deburr with a metal file, just as you did for the top strip. Insert the rubber or foam into their respective channels, then trim the excess with a utility knife.

8. Place the strips against the vertical jambs with the rubber or foam slightly compressed against the door. Ensure the curved, factory-cut part at the top of each strip fits tightly against the curve of the top strip. Screw the strips to the jambs using the supplied screws.

9. Open and shut the door several times to test that it latches properly. Also check for gaps between the weatherstripping and the door. If there are gaps, loosen some of the screws as necessary and move the weatherstripping in or out to obtain a precise fit. The holes in the weatherstripping are slotted to accommodate this type of adjustment.

Another way to take care of weather stripping and air sealing.

Pick up the phone and call Aladdin Insulation and Home Improvements 678-528-7115.  We can take care of all your insulation needs and you cn still tell the neighbors you did it yourself. aladdinhomepros.com

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