Is your home too cold or too hot? There might be an air leak somewhere in your place.
While an air leak in your house will not pose any real danger, it can cause a lot of problems. It can be very frustrating and cost you a lot of money. In fact, according to research, you can save as much as 15% of your energy bills by sealing all of the air leaks in your home. That’s a lot of money.
Also, sealing all of the leaks can make your home more comfortable. That should be enough reason for you to take this step.
How to Find Air Leaks
So, how does one go about finding air leaks in a home? First of all, you should be familiar with the areas where leaks most commonly occur. Windows and doors are the most common culprit, and should you detect an air leak through your window, you should get a window replacement in Salt Lake City or any other place right away.
Other parts of your home which you should check include:
- Attic
- Knee walls
- Furnace ducts
- Wiring holes
Identifying the Air Leaks
How can you identify the source of air leaks in your home?
The best step is for you to do a visual inspection of the interior and the exterior. Check for cracks and gaps in the areas that are most likely to have the leaks. Should you notice any cracks there, make sure to take note of the location so you can go back, later on, to seal it up.
Aide from a visual inspection of your house, you can also try another method for locating an air leak.
- Pick a windy day to don your test.
- Make sure that you turn off appliances that have fans or those that can disturb the air.
- Light a stick of incense and then hold it near the places where you suspect that there is a leak.
- If you notice the smoke moving back and forth, then that’s a sign there’s a leak.
It’s okay for you to try and identify if there is a leak in your house, but if you want to be sure, then you should get help from professionals in finding and identifying those places where air could be leaking.
Professionals can conduct what is known as a home energy audit. They would use a powerful fan that can suck most of the air from the interior of a house. That will bring down the pressure in the interior. They will then use a smoke pencil, which is similar to an incense stick. Professionals can detect a leak in your home and also assess how airtight your home is.
There are energy companies that offer energy assessments for free, so you might want to take advantage of that.
Finding air leaks in your home can help you to save money. You might not realize it, but the air leaks are costing you money because your house is not energy efficient.
