Air leaks in your home will lead to an increase in energy costs and an uncomfortable living environment. Your heated or cooled air leaks out of cracks and holes while the outside air seeps in. To compensate for air leaks, homeowners typically adjust the thermostat, which increases the amount of energy they would normally use. In addition, air leaks allow dirty outside air to enter your home, leading to a decline in indoor air quality. Fortunately, once you locate where you’re losing air, you can correct the problem, lower your utility bills and create a healthier home.
Locate leaks
There are several common locations where most homes experience air leaks. These gaps, holes and cracks typically can be found around doors and windows, baseboards, ductwork, floor joints, outlets, fireplaces, switch plates, rim joints and home foundation.
Repairing leaks
If the air leaks are located around windows and doors, the cheapest and easiest way to fix them is to install weatherstripping. Weatherstripping can be cut to fit the needed size and is available in various thickness as well as a pre-glued backing for quicker installation. Expanding foam spray and caulking will fill problem areas in basements and attics as well as gaps and holes in the foundation.
Professional help
The do-it-yourself approach to air leaks will only get you so far. However, once you’ve hired an experienced HVAC company to perform a complete energy audit of your home, they will locate and seal all of these costly leaks. Drafts are not the only way homeowners are losing expensive energy. With a complete home energy assessment, the HVAC technician will inform you of exactly how and where you’re losing energy and what steps you can take to correct the problems.
For more information about air leaks, contact the experts at Mowery Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing. We have been providing affordable and reliable services to the Indianapolis area for over 40 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Brownsburg, Indiana and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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