What Dr. Energy Saver Says About Air Leakage:

"By having your home professionally sealed, you can reduce your heating and cooling costs by 20% or more."

Energy Checkup
Energy Checkup
  • Consult with a Home Energy Doctor
  • Find air leaks with Blower Door test
  • A greatly impactful energy-saving step
Home Energy Audit
Air Seal

Air Seal Your Home for Energy Savings


"Who left that window open?
It's freezing in here!"

Open window
Not air sealing a home is like
leaving a window open.
You’d be entitled to yell if you found a window left open in your house on a cold winter day. Think of all that warm air escaping, the frigid air coming in, and the furnace needlessly consuming extra fuel.

Here’s a wake-up call: Many homes have the equivalent of an open window in terms of air leakage, even though all their windows are completely closed. Heat escapes through dozens of small holes, cracks and gaps spread throughout the house, from basement to attic. The combined area of these gaps can easily equal the area of a fully open window.


Anecdote

Mr. and Mrs. Draft were having a spirited discussion (what their children more accurately called an argument) about the comfort level in their house during cold weather. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mr. Draft observed, speaking into his cell phone from an upstairs hallway. “It’s toasty warm up here. I can’t feel any cold drafts leaking into the house.”

Stack effect
As warm air rises and leaks out at
the upper levels... the house sucks
new unconditioned (cold, hot,
damp) air in at the lower levels.
“You should come down here,” Mrs. Draft replied from the basement laundry room. “You wouldn’t believe how chilly it is. And the kitchen right upstairs from where I’m standing isn’t much better.”

“I don’t understand how one part of the house could be so comfortable while another part is cold,” Mr. Draft said. “What can we do about this?”

The Stack Effect:
Air Leaking Out Causes Air to Leak In

Convection causes the warmest air in your house to rise. Since it’s lighter than surrounding air, it wants to keep rising, which is why the greatest amount of air leakage is into the attic, through dozens and dozens of cracks and openings (I’ll get to the origins of these openings in a minute). With air leaking out the top of the house, an equal amount of air is going to come in through openings lower down. Interior air leaks out the top, causing exterior air to enter at the bottom. This is called the stack effect, and it’s based on the fact that nature abhors a vacuum.

Dirty insulation
Dirt stains on fiberglass attic insulation
are a sign of air leakage.

Air Leaks Cost You Money - Seal 'em

In a house with a lot of air leakage, you’re always losing air that you just paid to heat, cool or dehumidify, and replacing it with outside air that needs to be heated, cooled or dehumidified. Air leaks waste energy and make it more costly to keep your house comfortable. Wouldn’t you like to enjoy the air you paid to condition a little longer?  Sealing these air leaks can be a significant home energy savings.

Dr. Energy Saver Says…

Dirt stains on fiberglass attic insulation are a sign of air leakage. The insulation is filtering the air that leaks out of the living space below, trapping dirt and dust just like your furnace filter does. If you see dirt-stained insulation, you know that your house is leaking air.

The U.S. Department of Energy Says...

The U.S. DOE says that you can reduce your home's heating and cooling costs by as much as 30 percent through proper insulation and air sealing techniques. These techniques will also make your home more comfortable. Reducing your home heating and cooling bills begins with conducting a home energy audit to assess where your home may be losing energy through air leaks or inadequate insulation.

Back to Previous Page Back to previous page