Many people feel that they have done their best to make their homes air-tight by insulating outside walls and overhead thoroughly and installing good storm windows and storm doors. And that is certainly a great start, especially if those products are installed well and adequately. But there is much more that can be done and every bit, helps. First, one needs to be assured that the aforementioned products are adequate. If the walls were insulated when the house was built, that is probably as good as you can do. If not, if blown in after the house is already construction, it should be checked as thoroughly as possible to know that the job was complete.
If you have a contractor to blow insulation into your walls, it should be certain that each space between the upright studs are blown in from the bottom and from the top. This is necessary since some of those spaces have braces across between them which will stop the insulation from either direction, at that point. Also, the space over and under windows must also be done separately. In addition to the walls, one should have ample overhead, the more the better. In many places, 6 inches of attic insulation is considered adequate. Don't accept that. If possible, it is far better to have 12 inches or more. It is also very helpful if insulation is installed between the rafters underneath the roof itself.
One thing that is seldom done, at least in the southern portion of the nation, is insulation between all flooring joists underneath the house. Plus all foundation air vents should be those that close automatically by the temperature when it nears the freezing mark. If not, they should be covered during the cold months of the year.
But there is much more. All doors, especially those to the outside, should be weather-stripped as snugly as possible and an adjustable draft strip should be fastened to the bottom of each door where it snugly hugs the floor. The same procedure is helpful on your inside doors if different temperatures are maintained in the adjoining rooms.
When storm windows are being installed, you should see that the installer runs a bead of caulk or other sealant around the window casing which is to be beneath the outer edge of the storm window. This helps prevent cold air seeping into the space between the windows. If they are already installed and have not had sealant placed there at installation, they should be taken down and caulked, then replaced.
Did you know that the standard which contractors strive to meet as far as air leakage inside a house, is 0.5 per hour. That is to say that every two hours, the house has exchanged all of it's inside air for outside air! That may be standard but it seems poor to me. So every molecule of outside air that you can shut out is highly advantageous. A thorough examination of the outside of your house and also of the inside of your house should be made. There are spots which allow considerable air to enter or exit. The most important places to check are around all incoming plumbing pipes, electrical cables, and any other wires of such that comes through your floors and/or walls. If mice ever come into your house, believe me, air can also come in those same spots. Any such holes, even if they appear to be snugly filled with wire or pipes, caulk around them, heavily underneath your house and lightly inside.
Even remove your electric light switch covers, wall plug covers and even your light fixtures, and carefully caulk around those metal boxes (careful around those wires now...don't get hurt), then replace the covers and fixtures. We're almost finished. Now, again inside and outside, check around each window casing and door casing. If there are any cracks underneath them...caulk them. If you have an outside furnace or air conditioner, check where their wires and/or pipes enter the house and do them the same way.
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