The Importance of Air Sealing.

Homes burn through a mortifying 21% of the energy used in the United States. A lot of that energy is spent heating and cooling our houses. And even worse, a whole lot of that energy is spent heating and cooling your backyard and front porch through leaks and holes in your home's envelope.

Although some of the air leaks in your home are visible to the untrained eye — around old and untreated doors and windows, for example — much of the average home's air leakage takes place in areas you don't see. A lot of it happens because of something called the stack effect, or chimney effect, which works like this: warm interior air rises; it's almost always warmer near the ceiling than along the floor. This warm air is lighter than cold outside air so it leaves through all the small holes in your ceiling; light fixtures, smoke detectors, skylights, or bath fans.  The air that enters your home to replace this lost warm air mostly comes from the crawlspace, with its humidity, dust, and odors. This is why a leaky house will feel like the floor is cold, even if it's insulated. When we air seal your home, we generally focus on the bottom of the floor and the ceiling from the attic to minimize unwanted air movement through your home.

Perhaps equally important, air sealing is crucial for maximizing the performance of insulation, the other major component of your home's building envelope. The R-Value of insulation is determined under the assumption that there will be no air movement through the insulation — it assumes that there will be adequate air sealing around the insulation. Insulation works by trapping still air in between the fibers.  If it is exposed to air movement (air moving up through your ceiling into the attic, for example), the R-Value drops quickly.

If you do some serious air sealing work, you can expect hundreds in annual energy savings. Also, because the materials are relatively inexpensive and much of the most important work takes place in the attic and basement (where you don't have to worry about fancy trim or replacing drywall), the upfront cost is usually relatively low.

Take me back to "Learn"