The cold temperatures of winter are right around the corner and the last place you want to feel them is inside your home. Finding an air leak around a window, door or outlet in the depth of freezing temperatures is a challenge to solve when it’s too cold to fight with weather stripping and caulk. Therefore, it’s best to tackle the problem now by finding air leaks and potential heat-loss issues before the mercury plunges.
Make a Thorough Visual Search
Start on the outside of your home when looking for potential air leaks. Check outdoor water faucets, the intersection of siding and chimneys, any exterior corners and where the foundation meets your siding, brick or stucco. After you’ve looked outside, investigate indoor areas including the obvious leak spots such as doorframes, window frames, switch plates, outlets and baseboards. In addition, don’t forget the less obvious areas of cable lines, phone lines, dryer vent wall exits and attic hatches where leaks frequently occur. Examine all weather stripping and caulking to insure it’s still in good condition and check to see that all doors seal properly.
Seek Solutions
If you discover an air leak, deal with it immediately or add it to a pre-winter repair list. Replace any broken storm windows and install plastic sheets over older windows that leak. Replacing old doors and windows with new, high-performance models can reduce your energy bills and has the potential to prevent a large amount of heat loss from your home in the winter.
Professional Testing
To find all potential air leak areas in your home, consider hiring a qualified professional to perform an energy assessment. Having a blower door test included in that assessment involves depressurizing your home to reveal leaks nearly impossible to find with the naked eye. A thorough energy assessment shows you what areas of your home can benefit from additional insulation. Investing in the assessment before the cold weather hits helps prevent unpleasant surprises in the form of an air leak where you least expect it.
At Arpi’s Industries, we’re committed to keeping your home free of air leak problems.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Calgary, Alberta about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about air leaks and other HVAC topics, downloadour free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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