Best options for helping insulate a house?

[Hossenfeffer]

A whole lot of windows... single pane windows. Was gonna try and throw up some plastic on the inside and/or outside to create a bit of a barrier.

Any experiences you've had? Tips?

So far I've put down some rugs on the cold linoleum in the basement.

 

[Yzzim]

I had an energy audit done on my house recently and the easiest/cheapest fixes were:

1) Eliminate drafts. Put rope caulk around windows to stop the drafts, essentially the same thing plastic does without the ugly look.

2) Insulate attic/basement. Make sure you have insulation in the joists in the basement and the attic. A pack of R19 cost me $20 at a local lumber yard. I believe you'll want about 18" of insulation in the attic. I didn't have that, so a bundle of that cost me $25.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Get heavy duty plastic from the H/W store. The kits are nice, but a pain to get perfrect (no matter what the instructions indicate).

As Yzzim stated, insulate as much as possible.

Figure that with proper insulation you should save about 1/3 of you heating bill.
If some of the itmes are semi-fixed, you may be able to get the owner to compensate you some what for the value increase to the property.

For every exterior wall, put a insulation cover on all outlets (inside and out).

If you can redecorate those walls, hang some type of cloth - creates an air barrier.
Calking is nice for the cracks, however, the air barriers also help.

If you have a screen door, replace it with a storm door.
Make sure that the exterior doors have no air gaps on the frame and also at the floor level.

Treat the basement the same as the living area for the suggestions above for as much as possible.

If you have multiple floors, keep the temp lower in the bedrooms and their doors closed during the day.

Use heavy lined drapes on windows and pull drapes open on the sunny side of the house until daylight goes, then close them to assist in retaining the radiant heat.

 

[skyking]

Plastic for the win, mate.
Cheapest and most effective insulation is a sealed off air gap.
Caulk the windows beforehand, so the resultant airspace does not take in a ton of moisture.
Get some lath or saw some strips of veneer to hold the plastic, and install it with nails or staples. Figure on touching up the paint before you move out
Pick a window to leave alone, so you can cross ventilate for those nasty bowel effects that happen now and again

 

[kranky]

I've used those plastic sheets around windows and they work well. If windows are the problem, that will make a big difference.