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The average house is full of leaks that waste energy, compromise interior comfort, and force homeowners to pay high utility bills. In a house with a lot of air leakage, you're always losing air that you just paid to heat, cool or dehumidify, and replacing it with outside air that needs to be heated, cooled or dehumidified.
Having your house professionally air-sealed saves energy and money by keeping conditioned air inside, and by preventing the infiltration of outside air. In fact, research done by the U.S. Dept. of Energy has shown that when air sealing is combined with insulation upgrades, heating and cooling costs can be cut by 30%!
Air leakage doesn’t mean that a house wasn’t built properly. During the construction process, hundreds of openings are cut or drilled in framing, flooring and drywall as plumbers, electricians and HVAC contractors install wiring, plumbing pipes and ductwork. Even larger openings are made around chimneys and ducts or plumbing pipes that extend between floors. Then there are all the cracks and gaps that open up over time as building materials expand, contract or settle.
Even though many leakage points are difficult or impossible to see, their cumulative effect is dramatic. The warmest air in the house rises naturally by convection the same process that causes a hot air balloon to rise. As this warm air escapes into the attic and out of the house, a matching volume of outside air gets sucked into the house through leaks in lower areas –especially basements and crawl spaces. This combination of air exfiltration and air infiltration is called the Stack Effect –a major factor in energy loss and high utility bills.
Putting air pressure to work. A blower door sucks exterior air into the house to help technicians find and seal air leaks.
Dr. Energy Saver has the know-how and the technical equipment to detect leaks and seal them, short-circuiting the Stack Effect and saving you money. During a home energy audit, a Dr. Energy Saver technician will conduct a blower door test to measure overall leakage and also to pinpoint leak locations.
Temporarily installed in an exterior doorway, the blower door utilizes a powerful fan to depressurize the house. The fan's exhaust action sucks air into the house through all leak locations. Technicians can feel many air leaks; while others are pinpointed using smoke-generating tools or infrared cameras.
Once air leaks are found, it’s time to seal them, using a variety of products, including caulk, spray foam and specialized gaskets.
Dr. Energy Saver’s "ABC" air-sealing strategy is based on Building Science research that establishes the attic and basement as priority areas for sealing leaks in the building envelope. During and after air-sealing work, the blower door is used to confirm that the house is becoming "tighter" and more energy efficient.
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