The benefits of using draught excluders

Introduction

Draught proofing using draught excluders is an affordable and effective way to improve the comfort and energy efficiency of your home.

Insulation and sealing products are an essential component of maintaining a comfortable home, providing an effective barrier against cold air entering your living space while preventing warm air from escaping.

By filling in the cracks around your windows and doors, draught excluders can help keep a consistent temperature inside your home. This simple step can bring about numerous advantages, such as:

1. Spending less on energy bills: If you stop the warmth from seeping out of your house, draught excluders can assist in reducing consumption and lowering those expensive heating bills. This is particularly helpful during the winter season when heating systems are used to keep your home cosy and inviting.
2. Improving the comfort of your home: In addition to saving money, draught excluders can also help to improve the overall comfort of your home. If you are sat still for any length of time, and there is a cold draught in your living space, it can become uncomfortable as one or more of your extremities feels the chill.
3. Draught excluders can create a more comfortable environment in your home by blocking chilly drafts and keeping temperatures consistent.
4. Help reduce the global carbon footprint by minimizing your energy usage! Draught excluders are a simple and effective way to do this. Heating and cooling represent a considerable percentage of household energy consumption, so by reducing usage, we produce less CO2, which is beneficial for the environment.
5. Protecting your home: In addition to the benefits mentioned above, draught excluders can also help to protect your home from damage. When cold air sneaks through the crevices around windows and doors, it decreases temperatures in your home to a point where condensation forms – and moisture accumulates. This can result in mould and mildew growth that could cause health issues if left untreated. By sealing these gaps, draught excluders can help to prevent this moisture from condensing in your home and causing damage.

Types of draught excluder

There are several types of draught excluders available, including door snakes, door sweeps, window seals and weather strips, chimney draught excluder, draught proof letterboxes, loft hatch draught proofing.

Door snakes are long, narrow strips of material or foam strips that are placed along the bottom of a door to seal off gaps. They are typically filled with padding of some sort which may be foam, material or even something heavy like sand. Some are designed to be placed in front of the door, whilst others are attached with hooks.

Door sweeps are similar to door snakes, but they are attached to the bottom of the door and not typically removed.

Window seals are self adhesive strips that are applied to the edges of windows to seal off gaps and draught proof windows. They are often referred to under the umbrella terms of weather strips, as the same type of adhesive strips can be used for draught proofing windows and around the edges of doors. They can be applied to all types of windows, including sliding sash windows.

Chimney draught proofing is something which is often overlooked, however, it is vital to prevent heat loss. There are permanent solutions as well as various temporary solutions, such as chimney sheep and chimney balloons.

Draught proof letterboxes are also available and can help to reduce the air flow into the home through the mail slot.

Loft hatch draught proofing helps to keep warm air from escaping through gaps around loft hatches or attic access points.

One of the main benefits of draught excluders is that they are easy to install and require very little maintenance. Most draught excluders can be easily installed by following the manufacturer’s instructions, and they typically only require occasional cleaning to maintain their effectiveness. You can read our how-to guides on how to install a draught excluder to your front door and how to install a draught excluder around a door.

Draught proofing costs

Draught proofing costs can vary depending on the scale of the project, the type and size of draught excluder you buy. Generally, they are fairly inexpensive and can be done as a DIY project or professionally installed.

Overall, draught excluders offer many benefits in terms of energy efficiency and comfort.

Conclusion

In conclusion, draught proofing is an effective, easy and affordable way to improve the comfort and energy efficiency of your home. Not only will it reduce your energy bills, but it can also make your home more comfortable by blocking out draughts.

To draught proof your home is one of a number of things that savvy homeowners should do to save money, protect their investment and the environment.