What to Do About Air Leaks in Your Home

Home air leaks, when left unaddressed, could cost you a significant amount of money on your energy bills while also making it harder to maintain comfortable temperatures in your home. Some estimates indicate compensating for air leaks can account for anywhere from 10 to 30 percent of energy costs for a given home.

Most air leaks are located around cracks and openings in windows and doors, but air can also leak through electrical outlets and floorboards. While it is impossible to completely eliminate air leaks, there are steps you can take to seal up leaks around your home and minimize air transfer between the inside and outside.

Here are a few strategies on how to prevent air leakage in your home so you know where you need to take action:

• Hand test: You can simply use your hand to check and see if there are leaks in particular areas. You may feel drafts coming from holes or cracks around doors and windows. Also check around air vents and fans. If you feel any drafts of air blowing against your hand, this is indicative of an air leak.
• Depressurize: On a cold, windy day, shut down your furnace and close up all the windows and doors in your home, then turn on fans wherever they’re located. Walk around the house with a candle or lighted incense stick, and pass the incense over the doors, windows and other possible leaking areas. If you see smoke blowing into the house or getting sucked out of the house, this could indicate a leak.
• Candle: You could use a lit candle for another type of test. Turn off your air conditioning or heater and put a lit candle near areas where there are possible air leaks. If you see the candle light flicker when it’s placed near certain areas, this could indicate the presence of a home heating leak.
• Use specialized equipment: There are tools called ultrasonic air detectors that can help you detect air leaks in your home. The leak detector allows you to detect leaks with ultrasound. You turn on the device and point it at areas where there are possible leaks, then the device will scan the area and determine if there is, in fact, a leak. The device will also be able to determine if the air that’s leaking is cold or warm.
• Bring in a professional: If you suspect there is an air leak in your home but aren’t certain of the best method of finding it, you can always call in a professional to perform an inspection. Most HVAC technicians can also help you uncover the presence of home heating and air conditioning leaks and determine the best course of action to resolve those leaks so you don’t waste money on your heating and cooling every month.

For more information about how you can detect home heating leaks and help save yourself a significant amount of money this winter and over the long term, contact the team at Cassel Air Conditioning & Heating Service today.

Categorised in: Heating and Air Conditioning

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