De dagelijkse Uiteinden van de Vernieuwing van het Huis

Yesterday we wrote about our efforts to apply weather stripping to the enclosure of our electrical panel. This was because the energy audit we received in the late fall indicated a massive amount of cold air entering the house from that area. This is bad news in both the winter and in the summer as it causes heated air to leave the home in the winter and cooled air to leave in the summer causing the heater and air conditioner, respectively, to work harder and longer than they should costing us money and consuming non-renewable resources.

We left off yesterday with two issues. The first issue is that the door on the right of the electric panel enclosure does not close flush with the enclosure frame as shown in the pic’s below. The result will be quite frankly a waste of time and effort to apply the weather stripping if this gap remains.

The second issue was that there was a noticeable gab between the two doors when they are closed as shown below.

What solution did we come up with. Well, a simple one.  I like simple. What we did was to apply the vertical weather stripping on the left side of the right hand door slightly protruding beyond the door. Not, much mind you; just enough so when the two doors would be closed together the vertical weather stripping on both doors would connect.

Not only did this deal with the gap between the two doors, but it also kept the door on the right side flush with the enclosure frame. A win-win for sure. Notice the black weather stripping between the two doors in the picture below.

The result is that no longer do I feel any cold air rushing out from the electrical panel enclosure. What a difference.

And, remember that weather stripping is important in both the winter and the summer. Remember your high air conditioning bills from last year? Don’t wait like I did. Check your home for air leaks and apply weather stripping or caulking as appropriate.