By Erin Shine of attainableHOME
One of the new buzzwords people are using when they talk about energy-efficient homes is air sealing. Apparently, it’s essential if you want your home to be energy-efficient. But what is it?
Air sealing is simply finding and systematically sealing all the places throughout your home that leak air.
All homes leak. Like water coming through a hole in your roof, air leaks through gaps and holes throughout the structure of your house and all its components. But unlike the roof leak, you’re usually not aware of air leakage.
Maybe you can feel a draft in a room; this could be due to air leakage. Perhaps one room stays colder (in winter) or warmer (in summer) than others. Air leakage could cause or contribute to this.
But you’ll feel the main effect of air leakage in your wallet: Your typical home will lose 25%-40% of the energy you use for heating and cooling through air leakage. Another US government source says that you can save 15% on your heating and cooling bill by air-sealing and insulating.
