Seal the Air Leak in Your Home for Maximum Efficiency

Air leaks are one of the biggest sources of wasted energy in your home. In the seasons with extreme weather, like Summer, you waste energy cooling air that will end up leaking outside. To prevent this from happening, spend some time locating and patching up any leaks in your home.

How to Find Air Leaks

There’s no magic wand to find leaks, it simply takes time and patience. That being said, spend your time checking the right spots, the places in homes that most often have leaks. The outside edges of doors and windows are often rife with leaks, as well as any fireplaces you have. Finally, check for any serious drafts coming from your attic or garage.

It’s up to you to decide how you want to check for leaks. Some people find it easiest just to use their hands and feel for air streams, while others prefer to use something that produces smoke like an incense stick to see where air disturbs it. Mark each leak when you find it so you can seal the air leak later.

How to Seal the Air Leak

Your goal is to plug the leak so no more air can pass through it. There are various tools you can use to accomplish this, most of which are available at any hardware store. The two most common and versatile tools are caulking and weatherstripping. Caulking is great for a leak in a fixed location like the frame of a window. Weatherstripping is designed to allow movement, which makes it perfect for a door or window joint.

While you can buy the cellulose or fiberglass that is needed to insulate your attic or garage to eliminate drafts, it’s not quite as easy as fixing small leaks. For effective installation, most homeowners should turn to HVAC professionals.

If you need any help sealing the leaks in your Northwest Arkansas home, don’t hesitate to contact the experts at Paschal Heat, Air & Geothermal.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Springdale, Arkansas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about air leaks and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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