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A draft stopper, also known as a draft snake, or a window snake, is a tube stuffed with insulating material that you place on the window sill or meeting rail to cut down on air leakage, especially in cold months.

Find it! Draft stoppers

• Feeling creative? You make your own...BostonMamas.com: Warm Worms

Buying a draft stopper helps you go green because...

• Draft stoppers prevent air leakage through the window assembly, saving energy and lowering the costs associated with heating and cooling.

Windows, with doors, contribute up to 30 percent of heat loss and gain in a home, by direct conduction through the glass and air leakage through the window assembly.[1] Air infiltration through cracks and gaps in building envelopes accounts for as much as $13 billion dollars worth of lost energy in the US each year, according to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.[2] The US Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that air leakage around windows accounts for 10 percent of an average home's total air leakage, adding approximately 1 percent to the average heating bill.[3]

Associated costs and benefits

The appeal of draft stoppers can be traced to their simplicity, affordability, and functionality. In stark contrast to the high costs and intensive labor required to replace a home's windows, draft stoppers can often be purchased for less than $20–or made at home from readily available materials, for the craft-masters among us–and installing them couldn't be simpler: just set the draft stopper upon a window sill, flush against the window assembly where drafts tend to creep through the cracks. Even a 1/16-inch crack around a window permits as much air leakage as leaving that window 3 inches open,[4] which helps explain why air leakage is often cited among the top sources of energy waste in most homes.[5] While energy bill savings will accumulate gradually over time, the improvement in comfort attributable to a draft stopper is often immediate. Variations of draft stoppers are commonly employed to prevent further air leakage through doors, fireplaces, and electrical sockets.