Eliminate Air leaks Before Insulating Your Home

You 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 among the greatest sources of cooling and heating losses in a home. So, controlling air leaks is one of the best ways to extend the life of your home, as well as to conserve energy, save money and increase your home’s comfort.

VENTILATION IS A GOOD THING – AIR INFILTRATION IS NOT
Every home needs a certain amount of fresh air for things such as getting rid of excess moisture, reducing odors and stuffiness and the safe combustion of appliances that burn fuel. When this air exchange is controlled, it’s called ventilation.
 
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?
Fortunately, air infiltration is one of the easiest energy wasters to fix. The process requires only a careful inspection of your home and some inexpensive caulking, filler and weather stripping materials.
 
The first step is performing a detailed inspection of your home for air leaks. You can do this yourself during a windy day or hire a professional energy auditor to identify where leaks are occurring in your home.
 
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.
 
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. 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.

CAULKING AND WEATHERSTRIPPING
Use caulk to permanently seal air leaks in spots such as the cracks and gaps between window frames and your home’s siding. Generally speaking, you can caulk openings up to 1/4 inch.   
To fill large cracks that caulk can’t handle, use expanding foam. To close gaps too wide for foam, use foil-faced bubble wrap. And for really large holes, cut sections of rigid foam insulation to fit and glue into place with expanding foam – before covering the area with wood or another appropriate building material.
 
After you’ve handled the larger air leaks in your home’s attic, walls and basement, tackle smaller leaks by weather-stripping doors and windows.