Air leakage, or infiltration, occurs when outside air enters a house through cracks and openings. Properly air sealing such cracks and openings in your home can significantly reduce heating and cooling costs, improve building durability, and create a healthier indoor environment.
Many people think that air leakage is like natural ventilation, and therefore is a good thing. But, it’s unwise to rely on air leakage for ventilation, mainly because it can’t be controlled. During cool or windy weather, too much air may enter the house. When it’s warmer and less windy, not enough air may enter. Air infiltration also can contribute to problems with moisture control. Moldy and dusty air can enter a leaky house through such areas as attics or foundations.
We recommend a strategy that includes both reducing air leakage as much as possible, while providing controlled ventilation as needed. This goes for both new and old homes.
To reduce air leakage you’ll first need to find the leaks. For this, an energy audit, performed by a trained technician, can be a helpful tool. You can also check for leaks yourself. First, look at areas where different materials meet, such as between brick and wood siding, between foundation and walls, and between the chimney and siding. Also inspect around the following areas for any cracks and gaps that could cause air leaks:
■Door and window frames
■Vents and fans
■Outdoor water faucets
■Stucco or brick siding
■Foundation block
■Cable, TV and phone lines
Providing ventilation is the other part of the equation when it comes to sealing air leaks. Controlled ventilation, usually through mechanical means, is essential to keeping your home’s indoor air comfortable and healthy. Whole-house ventilation systems provide controlled, uniform ventilation throughout a house. These systems use one or more fans and duct systems to exhaust stale air and/or supply fresh air to the house.
Air sealing is a step that is often overlooked when homeowners are looking for ways to improve the comfort and energy-efficiency of their homes. Ask us about how to properly air seal your home to maximize energy savings and keep your indoor air healthy and climate-controlled.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).For more information about Ventilation and other HVAC topics,click here to visit our website.
The easiest way to make your home more energy efficient is to seal any air leaks, and one that is often overlooked is the bathroom ventilation fan and exhaust vent. The back-draft flap these units come with do a very poor job of stopping leaks. To address this issue, I use a replacement insert fan from the Larson Fan Company (online). Their fans has a true damper built in, that does a great job in keeping warm air in during the winter and hot, humid air out in the summer. This product has reduced my annual energy bills by over ten percent. It saves the most when air conditioning is being used.
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