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Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Locking in the Energy

Special thanks to Cori for guest blogging.

Cori V- I recently moved into a new home, or should I say, an old home, that is new to me. So far I love almost everything about it, including its age.  It is a home with history and character, but is still in generally good shape.  Despite having weathered many years, it has especially kept its  aesthetics. My only real complaint didn't arise until this winter (we  moved in during the mild beginning of Fall). What I immediately began to notice upon the arrival of winter was a significant increase in our heating bill from the last place that I lived. This house is actually a bit smaller than our last home, which was unnecessarily big, so I began to wonder what could account for this difference in energy use. The windows had all been replaced in the last five years by the previous owner, so I pretty quickly ruled that out as an option. I did, however, notice that whenever I was entering or exiting the front door it was extremely cold. When I say cold, I mean putting a hand up against this door on a decently chilly day felt like laying your palm flat against a large chunk of ice. Ding, ding, ding! Looks like we found the source of the heat leak… 

Since this realization I have been researching some different types of doors and companies. From what I can tell I think composite doors are the way to go. They seem to be the most insulated, energy efficient doors on the market, plus they come with the added benefit of being one of the most secure doors a home can have. It
doesn't hurt that the price is right, too! My next concern is being able to keep with the aesthetic of my cute, quirky old home. I was actually surprised at the how many options there were for style and color.  Yesterday the hubby and I sat down and made some final design decisions and our door is going to be delivered next weekend. I never thought I would see the day that would be so excited about a door! I have filed away all the bills from this year, and I can’t wait to compare notes and see how much I will actually be saving from making an investment like this.



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