Caulk: The Hottest Thing
In Home Remodeling

With heating prices expected to soar over the next few months, homeowners are starting to take a newfound interest in the unfashionable minutiae of caulking, insulation and tankless water heaters.

Companies from Home Depot Inc. to Ace Hardware Corp. are rushing to take advantage of the interest, pushing a range of the latest energy-saving products, such as ceiling fans with built-in heaters, programmable thermostats, light bulbs that use almost 80% less energy than regular versions, tankless water heaters and special window caulking that peels off easily after winter is over.

Bosch Aquastar 250SX tankless water heater, Price: $1,299, Comment: Unlike traditional water heaters, which continuously keep a tank of water warm, tankless ones save energy by heating water on demand.

"This is the largest single-year increase [in heating prices] that folks have seen," says David Garman, undersecretary of energy.

In the latest of a series of recent steps taken by the Bush administration to encourage conservation, the Energy Department and Environmental Protection Agency yesterday touted the advantages of shifting to more energy-efficient light bulbs, marking yesterday as "Energy Star Change a Light Day." The campaign aims to promote greater use of Energy Star light bulbs -- products certified as energy-efficient by the DOE and EPA. Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Energy launched a campaign to urge homeowners to cut back on energy use.

Companies have pushed some of their energy-saving products for years, but this season, they're expecting more consumers to look for new cost-cutting options. Ace Hardware's national home-improvement expert, Lou Manfredini, who takes shoppers' questions on a Web site and call-in show, says he's seen a 30% increase in calls and emails from consumers seeking advice on purchases or renovations they can make to trim their heating costs. Home Depot says insulation sales increased in the second half of September, weeks ahead of the expected seasonal increase.

Great Stuff Gaps & Cracks insulating foam, Price: $4.97 for a 16 oz. can, Comment: Foam sealant that fills gaps and cracks around air ducts, pipe entrances and electrical ducts

But many of the products attracting the most interest are relatively inexpensive items -- from Great Stuff Gaps & Cracks insulating foam ($4.97) to RiteTemp's $79 programmable thermostat -- that are designed to help cut down on energy use in the home. Home Depot is displaying its insulation products prominently in stores this month. Its newly introduced CertainTeed SmartRoll insulation prevents heat from escaping and is also resistant to mold due to a patented polymer facing that allows moisture to escape from the wall. The chain also has created more prominent signs to direct shoppers to energy-saving products such as ceiling fans, which can keep homes warmer by recirculating hot air. One new version is a $359 Hampton Bay ceiling fan that comes with a heater.

Ace Hardware is currently featuring the $8 Windjammer Weather Seal by Macco Adhesives/Liquid Nails in ad circulars. The product, a clear, waterproof gel that's squeezed out of a can to seal drafts around windows and vents, offers a solution to homeowners who don't want to insulate their windows with plastic sheeting or gummy caulking during the winter.

Good Earth Lighting Laguna Niguel table lamp, Price: $39.94, Comment: Decorative energy-saving lamp with a brushed-nickel finish that uses 2/3 less energy than regular lamps

In addition to home heating, retailers are featuring products that are supposed to cut energy usage for water heating and electricity. Ace Hardware, Home Depot, and Lowe's Cos. are showing tankless water heaters, which heat water on demand, as opposed to regular water heaters that are constantly cranking to keep water heated even when no one's taking a bath.

Another key area: light bulbs. The Energy Department's Mr. Garman estimates that if homeowners replace all of their light bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs, they can cut their lighting costs in half. (On average, a fluorescent bulb uses just 16 watts to produce the same amount of light as a 60-watt incandescent bulb.)

Holiday Living C6 LED Light Set, Price: $7.97 per set, Comment: Holiday lighting that uses 80% less energy than regular lights and lasts up to 10 times as long

New versions more realistically mimic the soft, yellowish lighting that most consumers prefer. And they're better-made than before -- one beef that some consumers have had with fluorescent bulbs is that they often flicker and look dim when first turned on, taking a few seconds to get to full brightness. Many now reach 90% brightness immediately. Prices also have dropped significantly -- the bulk of Philips's newest bulbs cost between $6 and $9 -- much lower than the $22 price tag that its first "Earth Light" compact fluorescent bulb had eight years ago.

There is one downside to sealing your home so heat doesn't escape. During the last energy crisis in the 1970s, homeowners who made their homes too "tight" found that sometimes air quality suffered, because there wasn't enough of an exchange of fresh air in the rooms. At times, this led to odors or a higher concentration of dust, which aggravated occupants' asthma or allergies. But normally, this is only a problem if homeowners have super-insulated walls, doors, and windows. One thing homeowners can do, if they have central heating, is to retrofit the system to pipe in fresh air from the outdoors. Ace's Mr. Manfredini urges old-fashioned measures: cracking a window open or using a ceiling fan. "By circulating the air constantly, it will find some fresh air that's going to leak in no matter how tight your home is," he says.

-- Eric Bontrager contributed to this article.

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