About 20% of your home heating and cooling costs simply leaks through drafty windows and doors. These gaps in your home also allow in allergens and pollutants from the outside, as well as humidity. The best way to prevent this is to have your home sealed.
When it comes to getting clean air into your home and dirty air out, the idea is to control the air movement, not just leave access for air do whatever it wants to. In the summer, hot air and humidity can leave your home uncomfortable and smelling musty. In the winter, cold air sneaking in will keep you shivering in a draft no matter how high your turn up the furnace.
Air sealing is a great way to control your indoor environment. The process is simple and can pay for itself quickly in utility savings.
Check around all doors and windows to find air leaks. Then, head to attics and crawl spaces. You can do a fairly good job of finding the major leaks yourself, but if you want to really do the job well, call Heat Relief to find even the tiniest air leaks. Many of these air leaks can be fixed with weather stripping, caulk, or spray foam; all are available at your local hardware store. Again, if you want the job done perfectly or just don’t want to do it yourself, have an experienced weatherizing contractor like Heat Relief take care of it.
Your next step is to ensure that all your leaks are sealed, it’s time to ensure you have fresh air the right way. If you haven’t called us yet, it’s time to call Heat Relief to review how your furnace, air conditioner, and other systems keep the air moving through your home. Our goal is to ensure that sealing your home doesn’t result in stagnant air.
We will also ensure that any combustion appliances such as furnace, dryer, or woodstove is ventilated properly. If your home is sealed and these appliances aren’t vented you could be in danger of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Air sealing can help keep your home comfortable and energy-efficient, it’s just that simple. It keeps the air your family breathes clean and safe, only takes a few hours, and can save you up to 20% on your utility bill in both winter and summer. Air sealing can be a DIY project, or for the most comprehensive analysis of your air sealing and ventilation needs, you can call a professional contractor such as Heat Relief.