Shelly Kleinpeter, Rubayet Bin Mostafiz and Meggan Franks

While Louisiana is known for its hot, humid climate, cold snaps during the winter months are increasingly common. Because many residents are not accustomed to this cold weather, these temperature dips can create dangerous situations for families.

LaHouse is an LSU AgCenter program focused on research, extension and training to create more resilient, sustainable and healthy Louisiana homes and communities. While the program’s model home is on LSU’s main campus, it is also a statewide education and outreach program providing information on natural hazard risk, resilient home upgrades, new home technologies and other principles of building science.

The LaHouse team received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture following a freeze in 2024 to educate homeowners on staying safe during severe winter weather and maximizing their homes’ energy efficiency.

Given that record-breaking snow and freezing temperatures occurred again in south Louisiana during the project period, the initiative offered a timely opportunity to provide residents with clear, research-based guidance on protecting themselves while also reducing energy spending during winter months.

As part of the USDA-funded Home Energy Resilience Outreach, Education and Support, or HEROES, project LaHouse collaborated with LSU’s Department of Construction Management to better understand how different building techniques perform in cold weather. The LSU team was led by Zhihong Pang, assistant professor, and ran advanced building energy simulations to evaluate which wall and window construction methods deliver the highest levels of energy efficiency in Louisiana’s diverse climate zones. This research helps identify building strategies that can keep homes warmer during extreme cold, reduce energy bills and improve overall comfort and resilience.

Using the data from the simulations, LaHouse developed a suite of extension resources tailored to Louisiana homeowners, builders and community leaders. These resources include:

• Printed homeowner guides focused on cold-weather safety and energy-saving upgrades
• Workshops and outreach events teaching residents practical strategies such as sealing air leaks, adding insulation and protecting plumbing
• Youth education activities designed to build STEM learning and awareness around home resilience
• Demonstrations and videos highlighting winterization tools and techniques
• Social media posts

By combining research, outreach and hands-on education, the HEROES project reached thousands of Louisiana residents, strengthening the state’s capacity to respond to cold-weather dangers.

Key Winter Weather Hazards and Energy-Saving Strategies

Severe winter events can lead to a range of hazards, from frozen pipes and power outages to dangerous indoor heating practices. The HEROES project emphasized safe, cost-effective ways homeowners can protect their property and stay warm, including:

Protecting plumbing

• Insulate exposed pipes.
• Seal gaps near plumbing penetrations.
• Let faucets drip during hard freezes and keep under-the-sink cabinets open to allow for warm air to circulate around plumbing.

Heating safely and efficiently

• Maintain and service heating systems annually.
• Use space heaters away from flammable, upholstered furniture and always plug them directly into the wall.
• Avoid carbon monoxide risks by never using ovens or grills for heating the interior of your home.

Improving home insulation and air sealing

• Add weatherstripping to doors and windows.
• Install additional attic insulation where needed.
• Use caulk and foam sealants to close air leaks.

These measures benefit the home year-round and can reduce energy waste and overspending on utilities.

Youth engagement was a key component of the project. LaHouse staff developed hands-on learning experiences that taught students about insulation, heat transfer and home energy systems. One activity included students building and insulating a miniature model home, then testing how much an ice cube inside the structure melted when placed outdoors. These activities aimed at teaching kids about energy and how choices we make can impact how much energy our homes consume.

The project reached more than 17,000 people through in-person outreach events and more than 400,000 through mass media. At one workshop, 88% of attendees reported learning more about energy-efficient techniques and their benefits.

Youth were reached at larger events like AgMagic, Ocean Commotion and livestock shows and through field trips to LaHouse, where students participated in hands-on activities and saw energy-efficient technologies in action throughout the facility. Of the youth surveyed during the project, 94% reported learning more about energy efficiency, and 57% said they would share what they learned with someone they knew.

Overall, evaluation continuously refined program offerings throughout the project and provided staff with insight into stakeholder needs regarding energy efficiency.

LaHouse is located at 3622 Gourrier Ave. in Baton Rouge and is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for self-guided tours featuring exhibits on home improvement and disaster-ready construction. All of LaHouse’s exhibits and resources are online as part of a virtual tour which can be accessed at www.lsuagcenter.com/lahouse. The virtual tour allows you to explore exhibits, read more about the home’s features and explore publications.

Shelly Kleinpeter is the creative content manager for the LSU AgCenter LaHouse Research and Education Center. Rubayet Bin Mostafiz is the assistant director of research for LaHouse and is an assistant professor of research, and Meggan Franks is an assistant professor for extension at LaHouse.

This article appears in the winter 2026 edition of Louisiana Agriculture.

A student attending Louisiana Sea Grant’s Ocean Commotion event identifies which practices save or waste energy in a home. Photo by Shelly Kleinpeter

A field trip group at LaHouse constructs a miniature model home to test different insulation types and how they block the sun’s thermal energy. Photo by Shelly Kleinpeter