True or false: Air leaks are one of the largest sources of heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer.
TRUE! Drafty doors and windows can make a home's heater and air conditioner work harder—using more energy than necessary and driving up your monthly bill. With air leaks, you are literally throwing money out the window. It's time to consider Weatherizing your Home!
Here are a few easy steps to seal leaks can save up to 15% on your monthly heating and cooling bills, make your home much more comfortable, and reduce your impact. Most weatherizing projects can be completed with $20-50 in caulking and weatherstripping supplies. The savings on your energy bills should quickly cover the cost for materials. Even better, sealing leaks makes for a much more comfortable and cozy home!
This low cost, simple action can generally be done yourself:
Step 1: Identify your air leaks. If you want a detailed assessment of your home's air leaks, you can hire a qualified professional to perform a Home Energy Checkup. However, you can also detect many leaks on your own. The most common places are windows, doors, and fireplaces. Homes built before the 1980's in particular can have leakier windows than newer homes. Wooden, single-paned windows are the worst offenders. Check out the Energy.gov guides: Detecting Air Leaks and Tips for Sealing Air Leaks to learn more. Once you know where you have air leaks, the next step is to seal them!
Weatherstripping is used to seal air leaks around movable items like windows and doors and is easy to apply. Make sure to check out the Energy.gov Weatherstripping guide for more information. In addition to weatherstripping, door sweeps and thresholds installed on the bottom of doors prevent cold air from coming in and warm air from escaping your home.
Step 3: Try caulking, which is best used for sealing smaller air leaks. Some prime areas for caulking include windows, doors, ceiling fixtures, electrical outlets, plumbing pipes, chimneys and more. For larger gaps, you can also use foam sealant. There are different kinds of caulking; your local hardware store professional can probably suggest caulking materials appropriate for each task. You can also check out the Energy.gov How to and Caulking Guide. For sealing air leaks around a fireplace, furnace or water heater vent, use fire-resistant materials such as sheet metal, or sheetrock and furnace cement caulk.
Step 4: Check heating/cooling air ducts in your attic or crawl space. For ducts more than 10 years old that have never been leak tested, leaks may be the number one energy waster. They may have been installed incorrectly, and leaks can develop over time regardless of the quality of the installation. The California energy code has specific protocols for testing ducts and fixing leaks.
If you have a fireplace, make sure your fireplace flue damper is working properly and is closed when not in use. You can also install glass doors and keep them closed to keep in the warm air. If you have retired your fireplace for good, install rigid insulation in the chimney to block heat loss around the damper.
Those of us at Sustainable Contra Costa believe that everyone deserves to live in a healthy, efficient, affordable, and comfortable home. If you haven't already, join the Cleaner Contra Costa Challenge to find things you can do to stay warm in the winter and reduce your carbon footprint.
Resources:
SCOCO volunteer and retired energy analyst Gary Farber's "Climate Action Ideas" website features a section on building energy efficiency.
The U.S. Dept. of Energy's Home Energy Saver website
Replies
Weatherization opportunities vary, depending on the age of the structure (or most recent remodel that included weatherization type upgrades). Recommendations for homeowners:
* For buildings constructed over four decades ago: caulking at windows and doors.
* For any age building: Exterior door weatherstripping - if it is non-existent or looking worn out.
* Heating/cooling duct leaks are sometimes a home's number one energy waster. For heating/cooling air ducts located in the attic or crawl space, that are more than 10 years old and/or have never been leak tested: Ducts ought to be leak tested, both because some installers do a bad job, and because leaks can develop over time. The CA energy code even requires that ducts in new homes be leak tested before the home may be occupied, because installers often don't do the installation properly. The state has specific protocols for testing ducts and fixing leaks. Keep in mind that heating your attic space does not improve one's standard of living!
* For homes built prior to 1990, there are likely opportunities for improving building insulation and windows to meet modern building energy standards.
* Closing the fireplace damper and installing fireplace glass doors are always a good idea.
More information about weatherization opportunities and how to weatherize can be found at https://hes.lbl.gov/consumer/