Icicles! They mean Christmas and coziness and...heat loss! If snow doesn't stick to your roof when it's freezing outside, and icicle curtains are hanging from the eaves, that means some of the energy and money you're using to heat your house is warming your roof instead of you and your loved ones.

Warm air flows toward colder air. If you really want to know how it works, check out this article: Heat isn't a THING, it's an ACTIVITY! But just briefly- you see how this house is made of materials which separate the inside from the outside? There are some spaces where boards aren't perfectly flush together, there are some spaces where the door doesn't perfectly fit in the jam, etc. That lets warm air out. Then there is the fact that the materials themselves are conductive. Ever touched a window in the winter? Brrr. Glass is HIGHLY conductive, heat goes straight through it. Most wood is also pretty conductive. Bricks are very conductive. And drywall is also pretty conductive. So your snow-free roof? It's being warmed by heat moving straight up and out, conducted through the framing and leaking through any air gaps. And the snowmelt is dripping down your roof and freezing, beautiful and glistening but not very efficient. So what to do!

Put a lid on it ;) Remember glass is conductive? Well fiber glass - insulation - is not very conductive at all, and putting a bunch of it between you and the outdoors protects the warmth in your house from being conducted through the framing materials the same way a lid keeps your hot beverage warm and scrumptious. Even better than a lid? How about one of those 12-hour Thermoses. Insulate as much of your house as you can, and seal the air gaps, too. There are lots of materials out there now that do both, a good local contractor will offer an energy audit as part of their services to help you decide what's best for you.


TIP: Yes glass is super conductive, more so than framing materials in most cases- but replacing windows is usually not as important as installing insulation. The framing material in your walls is also relatively conductive, and walls are a lot bigger than windows. Windows can be draped for low cost to avoid some heat loss. If you're doing an energy retrofit on a budget, put your money into filling your walls with the best stuff your local insulation contractor can offer you.

Of course, walls can be draped too. If that's your thing.