After installing weatherstripping around your windows and doors and sealing any gaps in your walls that you could find, you probably thought that your home was ready for the drop in temperatures. But then one night you’re sitting in your living room and feel a stream of cold air hit your neck at the same time that you heard a gust of wind outside. You come to the chilling conclusion that you missed a spot and determine that the draft is coming from your electrical outlet. This is actually a fairly common problem—especially in older homes—and one that has a simple and inexpensive fix: Insulating your electrical outlets. Here’s how to do it.
If you’re shopping for gaskets to seal your power outlets, here are some recommendations from this article:
Why is cold air coming through my outlet?
Unless properly insulated, electrical outlets and light switches located indoors on exterior walls may have gaps that allow outside air to enter your home. This may not seem like a big deal, but given that these air leaks may cause you to turn up the heat in the winter (or the AC in the summer) they could end up increasing your energy bills.
Plus, as a resource from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory points out, if outside air is able to get inside your home, moisture can, too. For example, if moist air condenses inside your walls, you may not be able to see the water as it accumulates, which could potentially lead to mold growth, wet insulation, or eventually, structural damage.
But that’s not all: The same gaps that allow cold air inside provide similar access to insects, dirt, dust, and pollen.
How do I stop cold air from coming through my outlet?
The easiest way to insulate an electrical outlet or light switch is to install a gasket. Also known as outlet sealers and outlet insulators, gaskets are precut pieces of fire-retardant foam that fit over outlets and under wall plates.
Credit: City of Flagstaff Sustainability Program/Screenshot
Follow the installation instructions on the packaging, which will likely be something along the lines of:
Start by visiting your circuit breaker box and turning off the breaker that supplies power to the outlet.
Use a screwdriver to remove the wall plate covering the outlet. (Put the screws in safe spot.)
Place the gasket around the outlets and press in the foam.
Reattach the wall plate.
Turn the breaker back on.
As long as you’re insulating one of your outlets, you might as well insulate the rest—or at least those on exterior walls. This makes even more sense because gaskets typically come in multipacks, including those from three of the most recognizable brand names in the gasket game: Frost King ($6.10 for a six-pack), Duck Brand ($8.49 for a 24-piece variety pack), and Stick ‘N’ Seal ($9.99 for 18 outlet gaskets and 6 switch gaskets).
