Locating and effectively sealing air leaks in your Fresno area home is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to improve your home’s indoor comfort level and, at the same time, conserve the energy used for heating and cooling the home. There are dozens of products available for efficiently sealing air leaks, and it’s important to buy and properly apply the ones that best suit your needs. Generally speaking, weatherstripping will be used for sealing leaks around moveable objects such as doors and window sashes, while caulking is best for sealing the gaps and cracks found in stationary areas such as window frames, walls, floors and foundations. For larger cracks and openings, use spray foam.
The first step in the process is to determine if and where you have air leaks that require attention. If you have a professional conduct a home energy audit, finding air leaks will be part of the process. You can, however, do the detective work yourself to locate places where air is able to infiltrate into or out of your home. One popular and easy method for doing this is to use a lighted stick of incense, carrying it along the interior of your home’s perimeter and noting where the smoke wavers. That’s an indication that there’s a leak. Common areas where leaks will be detected include:
- Around doors and windows
- Plumbing pipe penetrations
- Openings for electrical and TV/computer cables
- Joints between walls and the foundation
- The attic entryway
Whether you choose plastic, vinyl, metal, foam or felt weather barriers, they should be applied so that moving parts aren’t kept from properly operating.
Donald P. Dick Air Conditioning has been a full-service HVAC service provider in the Fresno area for more than four decades. We’ve glad to assist you in protecting your home by finding and sealing air leaks or offering any other information regarding your indoor air comfort. Contact us today.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in the greater Fresno, California area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about air sealing and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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