When Dennis Brachfeld of About Saving Heat walked in my house to do a home heating [Comfort] audit, the first thing he asked me is, "What rooms are cold?"

Rather than automatically recommend a standard set of actions - insulate…storm windows…seal leaks - Brachfeld likes to evaluate each home and get a feel for where its problems are before offering a winter-proof "prescription" for that home.

"Every house is different," says Brachfeld. "Most homes today already have some insulation, so attic insulation might not be the best first choice for everyone."

If a favorite chair in a much-used room is located near a drafty window, he explains, attic insulation, which will improve energy efficiency throughout the house, won't make that single spot any more comfortable.

"In that case, I'd look at where the person spends their time and try to deal with making the home more comfortable for them first."

The evaluation process
With an infrared sensor that reads temperature as well as heat loss, Brachfeld evaluates ceilings, walls, windows and door jams.

Having just had insulation sprayed in the attic, my ceiling registers zero heat loss, except in the corners. "They didn't get the corners very well, which isn't unusual," remarked Brachfeld.

Blown in insulation covers better than rectangular batting, he said, because loose insulation gets in the nooks and crannies, and conforms around odd shapes. The seams where strips of batting meet or the pockets where they don't lie flat allow cold air to creep into the house.

"It's like having a down jacket with a broken zipper," said Brachfeld. Window-proofing

The mini-blinds on my living room window are providing good insulation, he tells me. Curtains won't improve things all that much. Sure enough, the walls (uninsulated) register colder than the windows. But I must be sure the blinds touch the window sills, he says, otherwise cold air will fall into the room through the gap. And the blinds should be angled up, also to prevent directing cold air into the room.

If I hang drapes, Brachfeld warns, I must be careful not to leave too big a gap between them and the window. The dead space created, cold on the side by the window and warm on the room side, can cause a convection air current, cold air dropping in the space and sucking warm room air in the top.

Storm Windows Can Help
My storm windows are helping things too, says Brachfeld. Either double-glazed windows (two panes set in one frame) or storm windows will improve single pane windows from R-1 to R-2, a 100% increase. (This increase equals a 50% decrease in heat loss, or cuts heat loss in half!) Condensation and ice forming on windows is a good indicator of heat loss through windows. I've noticed this problem on my picture window, which is single pain.

Caulking gaps around my windows, both inside and out, around any loose glass, will lessen drafts, says Brachfeld. Outside, where the window trim meets the siding, I should caulk the gaps around each piece of horizontal piece of siding. Caulking is especially important where dissimilar materials meet, says Brachfeld, like metal window frames and a brick or frame house.

What about air leaks? Not only can these bump your utility bills up, but the drafts can make your home miserable. Brachfeld tests for drafts with his infrared sensor but also with a truly high-tech piece of equipment - his hand.

My windows aren't bad, because of the storms, and the doors are weather-stripped to keep out drafts. But around the door locks and latches the weather-stripping has been cut and I can feel a definite draft. I wonder if the plastic "vee" type weather-stripping I have is good enough or if I should replace it with foam, which would be more insulating.

"Weather-stripping is designed to stop air, not heat," says Brachfeld. What I have is fine, as long as I block the gaps along the locks.

Light fixtures and electric sockets are another frequent culprit for air leaks and I feel a draft coming from some of them. Foam sealers specifically made for electric outlets, and available at hardware stores, will take care of that, he says.

In my basement comes the real test. My little frame house in south Denver was originally a farmhouse, built in 1907. Lurking in the basement is the behemoth that passes for a furnace - a huge octopus-like gravity system converted from a coal burning system.

"Ah yes," says Brachfeld, with the knowing eye of a knight who has met a dragon like this before.

I'm not ready to replace the furnace, I quickly tell him, recognizing that gleam in his eye. In that case, there's lots I can do to make the situation more efficient, he tells me.

Insulation materials with a reflective surface put up on the basement walls, especially around the furnace, will bounce heat back into the room instead of letting it escape through the walls into the ground.

Sealing the loose basement windows will help, but since my old furnace does not have a source of fresh air ducted to it, the window nearest the furnace should be left loose as a necessary source of fresh air. If the basement is too tight, warns Brachfeld, the combustion process inside the furnace will draw fresh oxygen from upstairs, creating drafts and wasting heated air.

I also need to lay a vapor barrier over the exposed earth of the crawl space, in the form of heavy plastic. This unheated area below the house, through which the heating ducts run, not only pulls heat, but since it is warmer than the surrounding earth, acts as a wick to pull moisture from the soil.