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Review on Dottie WPI100 Wall Plate Insulation Gasket, 100-Pack: Enhancing Electrical Safety & Efficiency by Mirzet Gosselin

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Excellent insulator against cold air

It's amazing where cold air can come from. Living in the Carolinas, I was surprised when I felt so much cold air rushing through light switches or outlets. A friend recommended I buy wall insulators and after doing a little research and reading many reviews online I decided to order these insulators. Now that it's winter, I wanted to see how well these insulators would keep the cold air out. Our kitchen is notoriously colder than the main part of the house because it's on the south wall and the outlets and junction boxes seemed like wind tunnels. Summary: These insulators do a great job of keeping cold air out. Details: I have Decora switches throughout the house and for a single switch installation these insulators match the switches perfectly (as shown in the photo below). When you have two or more switches together, installing these isolators becomes an "arts and crafts project". I find it best to install an insulator like this (in the middle of the junction box if you have 3 or more) and then trim the rest to size. (See images below.) For Decora switches, I give these isolators 5 stars out of 5. I give 3.5 stars out of 5 for wall outlets, and here's why: While you can punch holes for outlets, it almost doesn't knock out of the corners (like the photo below). This leaves a gap through which air can still get into the house. Where airflow wasn't too bad, these isolators worked very well, cutting off 50-90% of the incoming air. For outlets where there was too much air (like in my kitchen) I had to buy proper insulators specifically for outlets. So for installation around outlets these isolators are fine (I don't have single pole switches so can't comment on how well they work for this type of installation). and I've found that the kitchen isn't as cold and the temperature is generally more consistent in the rest of the house. Even on some very cold days, cold parts of the house get warmer earlier. These isolators work really well and we have seen a significant improvement. I definitely recommend these isolators, especially if you have Decora light switches. The price for what you get is fantastic. But as a precaution, if you have outlets that let a lot of air through, I would recommend buying insulators specifically for outlets. countertop) where you can punch these insulators, especially the small screw holes of the plate. It's easier to have them in one place than trying to clean up small amounts of scum all over the house.

Pros
  • Consistent test results
Cons
  • Could have chosen a newer model