How to keep drafts and cold outside

Properly sealed windows save money and help protect the environment

Have you ever experienced the wind whistling through joints and cracks around your windows? Then you’ll know it’s not only unpleasant but also causes heating costs to rise significantly. Before the start of the cold season, you should therefore check all windows in your home for tightness. Smaller leaks can be repaired by yourself without being a qualified craftsman. Sealing tapes or silicone foams are available for this purpose. But for larger cavities, for example under the windowsill, you should call in a window expert. To ensure a healthy living environment, only very low-emission sealing products should be used. You can recognize them by the EMICODE® seal on the label.

Many have already experienced it: You sit in a heated room and still shiver with cold. Yet unpleasant drafts can often be stopped by simple means. This is also good for your wallet. The non-profit consulting company co2online has calculated that a single-family home of 110 m² can save more than 900 kWh and 70 euros per year (about 7 euros per window) if the windows are subsequently sealed. But the result is not only a pleasant room climate: also the CO₂ footprint is reduced. With gas heating, this amounts to an average of 230 kg of CO₂ per year. If you want to use environmentally friendly sealing products that ensure a healthy home, simply look out for the EMICODE certification on the packaging.

Home owners and residents can verify whether there’s a draft problem by comparing their heating energy consumption with that of similar households. With the help of a tea light or candle, they can easily check where exactly the drafts enter the room. Alternatively, they can take a piece of paper, wedge it between window and frame, and close the window. If the paper is now very difficult to pull out, the window is tight.

Here now an overview of the most common sealing measures. Joints and cracks between window frame and sash can be effectively closed with self-adhesive sealing tapes. With a little skill, even a layperson can do this. However, the tapes will keep your windows tight for no more than one winter. Gun-applied silicone sealants, on the other hand, provide a perfect seal for many years – especially in the area of connection joints between wall and window. They also protect against moisture.

Old and worn window seals can also be a gateway for drafts and should therefore be replaced in good time. Insider tip: Insulating films can help you save heating costs. Applied to the inside of the windows, they reflect the heat back into the room. Over the years, cavities often form under the windowsills and allow cold air to penetrate the interior. Another cold air corridor are old, uninsulated roller shutter boxes. The gaps can be filled with insulation materials such as sealing foam – a job for the specialist. If all measures have failed, the old windows should be replaced by new energy-saving windows. Equally important in winter is regular purge ventilation. This not only prevents moisture, but also ensures that the heat loss is kept to a minimum.

If you want to enjoy unpolluted air inside your rooms, use sealing products with the EMICODE® seal on the packaging. After being tested by independent laboratories, these products meet the world’s most stringent emission limits. Regular checks carried out by independent experts and testing institutes ensure compliance with the high quality standard. In addition to sealing products, there are also many other building materials that have been awarded the EMICODE® quality seal.

Photo: ©fizkes/123rf.com/GEV

What smart money-managers have known all along: Tightly sealed windows save ready cash. Once a year, by autumn at the latest, you should check whether all glazed areas and the surrounding masonry are tight. Any layperson can do this with the help of a tea light or candle and by scanning the interior walls with their hands. However, thermal imaging cameras provide much more accurate information about the location of thermal bridges.