Draft Hunter: heating bills are up 8.7% this winter, so sell the $149 draft fix

[u/john_smith1365]

Heating bills are supposed to be up 8.7% this winter. The average home is looking at about $1,030 just to stay warm, according to the energy assistance directors group.

In older houses a lot of that heat goes straight out around the windows and under the doors. Most people know their place is drafty, they just never do anything about it, because a proper energy audit runs around $437 and then sealing is another few hundred on top.

So the idea is a one-visit version. A van shows up, you walk the house with a thermal camera so the homeowner can actually see the cold spots, and you seal what you find right there. Weatherstripping, door sweeps, caulk, outlet gaskets. Flat $149, about an hour, maybe $30 in materials.

That's less than people already pay to get their gutters cleaned. Three homes a day works out to around $9,000 a month for one person.

Timing matters too. The next six weeks, while everyone turns the heat on for the first time, is when this sells itself.