Winter in the Cleveland area can be brutally cold, with temperatures dipping to the single digits and below. If your home is not equipped with new, energy-saving windows, you might lose a significant amount of heat during the winter. In turn, that means not only will you fight drafts in your home all winter long, but your heating bills will rise as your furnace or heating system struggles to heat your home. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to improve the efficiency of your windows and reduce heating loss this winter, including:

• Sealing holes or cracks around windows. If there are gaps between the glass, sash, and frame of your windows, both warm and cold air can enter your home. Air seepage, even in small increments, can negatively affect the efficiency of your windows. In the winter, it can let in excess cold air. If your solution is turning up the furnace, your furnace must work harder to heat your home—and you will see an increase in your monthly energy bill. An easy do-it-yourself solution to address this problem is using caulk or weather stripping, a material commonly made from plastic and rubber, to seal the areas letting in drafts.

• Installing window treatments. Window treatments have a purpose beyond being a decorative feature of your home. Treatments such as insulated draperies or pull-down shades can also be used to insulate your home. This helps to reduce loss of heat through cold drafts. As an added bonus, in the summer, the draperies provide a cooling effect by blocking sunlight from entering your home. Of course, if at any time during the winter you want to let the sunlight in, you can do so very easily by opening the drapes or releasing the shade.

• Using plastic film to cover windows and patio doors. There are many homeowner do-it-yourself kits available to use plastic film to reduce heating loss through your windows. Using a kit, you can cover windows and patio doors with a plastic shrink film. This film is applied to the interior side of the window or door frame using a double-stick tape, and then usually heated with a hair dryer, shrinking the film and getting rid of any wrinkles or bumps in the plastic.

If these efficiency tricks do not work, and you are struggling with high heating bills, it might be time for new windows, available at Cleveland Lumber. New windows are designed to be energy efficient. Cleveland Lumber represents several window manufacturers, including Andersen, Sprouse, and Simonton. Contact Cleveland Lumber today to speak to a qualified sales representative about the best windows for your home.