Home Series Booklets
Eliminate air leaks before insulating your homeAdditional InformationYou may think that insulating should be the first step in making your home more energy-efficient, but consider this: Air leaks through the ceiling, walls, foundation and other areas typically are the greatest sources of cooling and heating losses in a home. So, controlling air leaks is the best way to extend the life of your home, as well as to conserve energy, save money and increase your home's comfort. The bottom line is this: If you don't tighten your home first, money spent on insulation may be wasted. Ventilation is a good thing-air infiltration is not A large amount of air is exchanged in uncontrolled and invisible ways, too, through hidden cracks and openings present in every home. This is called infiltration. Typically, air infiltration causes drafts and a chilly feeling in some rooms during the cool-weather months. Adjusting your thermostat will not stop the drafts, but sealing the hidden cracks and openings will. Then you'll stay warmer at lower thermostat settings, use less fuel and reduce your utility bills. Where do you start? You likely already know that you should caulk and weather-strip various spots around the exterior of your home to protect it from the elements. But did you know that it is equally important to protect your home from interior air leaks? Moist interior air can enter the walls and ceiling through cracks and holes, and condensation buildup in those locations can damage or destroy insulation, wiring, wood and other building materials. Test for leaks The most complete type of energy audit includes a blower door test. A blower door is a large fan that fits tightly into an exterior doorway and depressurizes the space inside your home, which then causes air to flow in through the cracks and other openings. The energy auditor then can walk around and tell you where the leaks are by feeling for airflow by hand or by using a smoke pencil and noting where the smoke is blown. You can perform a similar test yourself by closing all the windows and doors and using a whole-house fan or a large portable fan temporarily sealed in an open window to exhaust the air from your home. Use your hand or a lighted incense stick to look for leaks. This home version of the test won't be as accurate as the professional test, but it can get you started. Once you've located the air leaks in your home, you're ready to start plugging them. A good rule of thumb is to seal the high and low air leaks first; in other words, start by plugging holes and leaks in the attic and basement. Then move on to the exterior walls and smaller leaks around doors, windows and electrical switches and outlets. Sidebar The material in this article was adapted from a new book, Home Tightening, Insulation and Ventilation, just released by the Iowa Energy Center. Besides offering much more detail on the topics discussed here, this book also covers how insulation can pay for itself in just a few years, talks about why ventilation is one of the keys to year-round energy savings and lists many sources of more information on energy efficiency and renewable energy topics. To get your free copy of this book:
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