Check Your Leaks: Find Ways to Save Energy

Testing the air tightness of your home using a special fan called a blower door can help to ensure that air leaks are not eating up your home heating and cooling dollars. Air leakage that allows outdoor air to enter your home can increase heating and cooling expenses by 10 to 30 percent. Cracks around windows and doors were once considered to be the home’s most prominent air leaks, which led building specialists to start measuring air leakage with blower door tests.

A blower door is a powerful fan that mounts into the frame of an exterior door. The fan pulls air out of the house, lowering the air pressure inside. The higher outside air pressure then flows in through all unsealed cracks and openings. A computer connected to the fan will measure the amount of air flow through the home. An energy auditor may also use a smoke pencil to detect the location of air leaks.  This process takes two to four hours to set up and conduct, depending on the size of the home.

Research shows the biggest air leaks can be found in the attic, around the foundation, and where utilities pass through the building’s outer shell.

Access Energy Cooperative members and Access Energy Propane customers can arrange for a Member Services Representative to come to their home and perform a free energy audit or blower door test by calling 1.866.242.4232.