ENFIELD: Homeowners had a chance to hear all about the advantages of draft proofing their home with a workshop put on by Efficiency N.S. at Payzant’s Home Hardware in Enfield on Nov. 8.
Barry Walker, Community Outreach Specialist with Efficiency N.S., was on hand to give a demonstration and explain the best ways to ensure you can save money by sealing any spots where drafts may come in and thus suck heat out.
“We’re telling people all about draft proofing and weather sealing their home before the cold winter weather starts,” said Walker. “Draft sealing is the best payback, it’s the least expensive thing you can do to your home, and it’s the highest and fastest return on your money.”
He explained what he had with him at the Enfield workshop. They were two of the places where drafts are frequent in homes.
“The first one, one of my pet peeves, the dryer vent,” he said. “People will install these by an inexpensive dryer vent and leave them in place for many years. They only last so long and need to be replaced, air sealed and weather stripped before they’re complete.
“We encourage people to inspect their dryer vent for any gaps.”
Walker said the other spot that has gaps are outside electrical wall outlets.
“Every room has two or three of these and they’re notorious for letting the cold winter drafts into the room, down by your feet,” he said. “Simplest thing in the world to prevent that is the foam gaskets, which are easy to install and a couple packages can do your whole home. It will make your whole home more comfortable and lower your heating cost.”
He said the amount of costs a person can save by draft proofing a home depends. A 100-year-old farmhouse, one could save 10-15 percent, while the average home up to 40 per cent of heat costs is through gaps and cracks in the building envelope.
Walker said insulation is the most important thing.
“Before you do anything with regard to changing heating systems in your homes, always look at the insulation,” he said.
Matt Dagley, social media, marketing, and systems coordinator with Payzant’s Home Hardware, talked about the partnership between them and Efficiency N.S. Because of COVID they haven’t bene doing as many workshops as they normally do, but the company decided to host them at their Windsor; Lower Sackville; and Enfield stores.
“We have also recorded video of the Lower Sackville workshop which we will share online, and it’s included with this story,” said Dagley. “There are four episodes which Barry demonstrates to be more heating efficient.”
He said the nice sunny day has made it quiet for any turnout at the Enfield store, but that’s why they did the videos.
“We’re excited for people to see the videos,” he said. “There’s people I have talked to about the outlets and foam inserts, and they had no idea.”
Dagley talked about premiering the videos on The Laker News, a digital-only news website that just launched in March.
“We’re excited to launch the videos exclusively with The Laker,” he said. “It made sense to team with such a well-respected and followed community news website to do this.”
Walker said some of the ways people can find more info they can visit the Efficiency NS website, call into their energy solutions advisors, or visit them onsite when they hold workshops at any Payzant’s store.
