Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm fixing to install them myself after discovering just how much cold air comes through the outlets on the outside walls of my new townhome. Some of the Home Depot employees didn't know what I was talking about when I went to pick up a few packages of the insulators. Apparently its not too well known of a winterproofing option. Anyone else installed them and noticed improvements?
Are these those foam cut-outs that you place under the outlet plates? I've used them but not sure how much $ they've saved me. I did notice that they cut down on drafts/winds coming through the outlets.
And yeah, sometimes the folks at Home Depot don't know what you're talking about. Happens quite a bit especially if it's something specialized.
We have them on some of our outside walls. I don't know that I noticed an improvement or not to be honest.
Oh now that's not encouraging. I would have thought it should be noticable either in it not being as cool inside or it lowering your utility bill in winter. Maybe even in summer.
I just got most of them done but woke up with a migraine and just couldn't handle anymore crawling around on the floor and moving furniture today. Just lack getting the kitchen outlets installed. One thing I noticed is on 3 outlets the hole was cut too large in the drywall and the plate doesn't even cover the entire hole which I hadn't noticed when I moved in. I could feel wind coming in through two outlets and caulked them too. Hope all this helps. Next project is caulking around windows and insulating windows and sliding glass door with bubblewrap.
One thing I noticed is on 3 outlets the hole was cut too large in the drywall and the plate doesn't even cover the entire hole which I hadn't noticed when I moved in.
There are different sizes of plates. The newer/cheaper ones I noticed are smaller than the older ones. Can the hole be covered with a larger plate? Then you could just put the insulator on the back of the plate. If the insulator isn't big enough, find a piece of thin flat foam (similar to packing foam, like wrapping around dishes or breakables, about 1/8"-1/4" thickness).
This is indeed quite a chore but anything that cuts down on cold drafts must benefit house somehow. Good luck![/quote]
There are different sizes of plates. The newer/cheaper ones I noticed are smaller than the older ones. Can the hole be covered with a larger plate? Then you could just put the insulator on the back of the plate. If the insulator isn't big enough, find a piece of thin flat foam (similar to packing foam, like wrapping around dishes or breakables, about 1/8"-1/4" thickness).
This is indeed quite a chore but anything that cuts down on cold drafts must benefit house somehow. Good luck!
[/quote]
This place is at least 25 yrs old so I'm assuming the outlet plates are all very old originals. But I did notice there are two sizes of plates because the foam insulators stuck out from some of the outlets and also around the precut socket holes in the foam insulator. So had to do some trimming. I found two switchplates that were cracked so I may just replace them but they are very weird sizes I think. I guess if I found ones larger it wouldn't hurt anything to put up.
I only put the insulators on outside walls... should I put them on inside walls too?
I only put the insulators on outside walls... should I put them on inside walls too?
Check each room? I had to put insulators in my kitchen b/c it was over the garage. Not sure what the builder did/did not do, but there was an obvious draft in that room and it really did help.
There's actually two issues going on here. First, the little foam insualtion pads that go behind the plug and switch plates area great. They will cut down on the drafts coming out of the plates and plugs. However, the air is still getting into the walls. That's the second issue.
With air getting into the walls, it's affecting the wall insulation. Some peole call it "windwashing." When the air blows into cracks, crevices or gaps in the wall vs. foundation interface, or any other big gaps from other wall penetrations, the insulation becomes ineffective. The insualtion works by holding the air within its gaps and slowing the transfer of heat, either into or out of the structure.
When the wind is forcing air into the insulation, the air is not longer stable and it cools down. It loses a lot of it's ability to slow the transfer of heat from the structure.
You can tell this is happening by the fact that air is blowing out of your sockets. You're effectively treating the symptom but not curing the disease.
To complement the insulation pads behind your wall plates, you would get a big bang for your buck by getting some of the expanding foam and working your way around the house. Look from the ground up and fill any gaps with the foam. Look at any wall penetrations and fill the gaps around them. As you do this around your house, you will find less and less wind blowing into your walls and your insulation will be more capable of doing its job.
In terms of the foam, I would suggest staying away from the high expanding stuff. There is a chance that it can push your siding away from the house if it's put into a small gap or area.
The foam comes in three exapnding versions - small, medium and large. Certainly use the large expanding if you find enormous gaps, but the small expanding should suffice for most siding and penetration gaps.
You may also find other benefits. By filling the gaps, you'll cut down on insect infiltrations in your home. It blocks their access into the walls, so you wont find little spiders hanging out in the bathrooms, corners of the ceiling, etc. They've likely been making their way out of the sockets and into your house.
I don't own a home I rent a townhouse so I can't be getting inside the walls or doing major rennovations. Its on the 2nd floor so I can't climb around the outside working on filling in around siding. There is an embankment lined in dense trees on the backside of townhouse so all that shade further makes my bedroom really cold.
The main reasons I am doing this is #1 its freezing cold at night inside already but its barely even Fall so I don't want to turn the heating system on. And #2 my electrical bill is high despite keeping my a/c at 82 degs and sweating it out inside all summer so I'm terrified what the heating bill could be. So I know the building is not insulated well and not energy efficient. I've cut back on everything else I can do from sitting in dark rooms, not using the dishwasher, unplugging things from wall when I'm not using them and using CFL light bulbs. Once I cover up the sliding glass doors with bubblewrap that's about all I can think of left that I haven't done to try to conserve electricity and not freeze to death. I have Raynauds syndrome so its literally dangerous to me to let my extremities get too cold.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
