Benefits of Air Sealing Your Home

June 30, 2017

In the laundry-list of home improvement tasks, the benefits of air sealing your home may not at first rank high on your to do list. But imagine for a second: would you ever drive a car with a leak in the gas tank? Would you pour yourself an expensive glass of wine into a glass with a chip in it? If the answer is no, the benefits of air sealing your home should be something you consider for your next home reno project.

Repairing Air Seals For Any Leaks or Cracks in Your Building Envelope

Air sealing your home is, at its simplest, plugging the holes that cause your home to lose its conditioned air and allow outside air to enter. Air can enter through cracks, improperly sealed doorways, or from old, inefficient weatherstripping. Through the process of air sealing, you detect any leaks or cracks in your building envelope, inside and out, and then repair them. In an era of rising electricity bills and a growing concern for the environment, the benefits of sealing air leaks in your home are many.

One of the biggest benefits of air sealing your home is that they are a cost-effective method of cutting your heating and cooling bills. As your dad might say, there's no point in air conditioning the whole block. Saving on your electricity bill while also preventing drafts and cold spots is one of the huge benefits of air sealing your home.

The second largest of the benefits of air sealing your home is simply that your HVAC system won't have to work so hard. If your drafty old home is full of leaks, your furnace will have to work twice as hard through the cold months to keep the indoor environment at a minimum temperature - and besides the expense, this causes more than its fair share of wear and tear on your HVAC equipment and could lead to costly repairs down the road.

Another of the many benefits of air sealing your home is that the same place where air escapes also allows things in - moisture being one of the biggest culprits. At its most harmless, moisture will raise the humidity level in your home and make your indoor environment uncomfortable. At its worst, moisture could be contributing to the growth of mold that could be seriously affecting you and your family's health. There are many more benefits to air sealing your home, but luckily there are some easy steps you can take to seal your home.

Common Areas Where the Benefits of Air Sealing your Home are Easily Apparent are:

• Weatherstrip doors and windows - consider replacing old single pane windows with more efficient double pane windows.
• Caulk and seal leaks where plumbing, ductwork, or wiring enters or exits your home.
• Seal leaks around fireplace chimneys, the furnace, water heaters.
• Weatherstrip in the attic and in open stud cavities

The first step in reaping the benefits of air sealing your home are to have an air sealing test done by a qualified professional. At GNI, our years of experience in air sealing and insulation have taught us to recognize where air is escaping from your home and to recommend the best solutions for you and your unique home. Our assessment often begins with the industry standard "blower door test" that depressurizes the home and causes outdoor air to enter more rapidly. Our technicians provide top-quality, reputable air sealing assessments that will result in noticeable benefits of air sealing your home: improvements in your heating bills AND in the comfort and health of your home environment.