Tried putting in those foam outlet sealers behind my old switch plates

Honestly I thought they were just a gimmick my neighbor recommended, but after my last electric bill dropped $18 I'm a believer. Has anyone else seen real savings from these things or is my insulation just that bad?

3 comments

3 Comments

riley_coleman85d ago

Oh man you got me thinking about something totally different. Those foam sealers are great for drafts but I wonder how much of your savings came from stopping the heat from escaping around the actual wires themselves. Like think about it, if your walls are cold air is still seeping in through those tiny gaps around where the wire enters the box. The foam seals that gap too which is the part nobody talks about. So even if your insulation is good those little holes can add up over the whole house.

gray_roberts5d ago

Never really considered those tiny wire gaps. You changed my mind on this one.

margaretj404d ago

That's a solid point @riley_coleman8 makes about the wire entry gaps. Never thought about that until we put these things in our 1950s house. The old switch plates had so much air moving through them you could feel it on a cold day. We did a test with incense sticks and saw the smoke getting pulled right into those little holes. After sealing them up with foam and also some caulk around the box edges, our bedroom felt way less drafty. Not as much savings as you got since our bill only dropped about $12, but still worth the ten bucks I spent at the hardware store.