Buttoning Up Your Home

An astounding number of homes in the US report “frequent” and “very frequent” drafts. The Energy Information Administration 2001 Survey EIA reports that 88% of homes in the US are leaky, and these leaks could be costing you and the environment big time. Rocky Mountain Institute's Cool Citizens Everyday Solutions demonstrates that a typical home can save as much as 19% on heating and cooling bills by sealing up doors, windows and air leaks, and an additional 16% by adding extra insulation. So if you are interested in cutting your heating and cooling bill by 1/3 or more, read on.

What's involved in sealing up your home?

EVO turned to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the Energy Star Home Sealing Guide answers. Below we list the steps you'll need to take to get started.

STEP1 1: Find Your Leaks If your home was built more than 20 years ago, you more than likely have air leaks. The Department of Energy has a handy method for detecting leaks. First, look at areas where different materials meet, such as between brick and wood siding, between foundation and walls, and between the chimney and siding. Also inspect around the following areas for any cracks and gaps that could cause air leaks by doing the following:

1. Turn off your furnace on a cool, very windy day.
2. Shut all windows and doors.
3. Turn on all exhaust fans that blow air outside, such as bathroom fans or stove vents. This will create negative pressure in your house so you can detect the leaky areas.
4. Light an incense stick and pass it around the edges of common leak sites. Wherever the smoke is sucked out of or blown into the room, there's a draft.
5. Also you can check doors and windows by slamming them shut on top of a piece of paper. If you can pull the paper out, you are definitely losing energy.

Here are the most common areas where leaks occur:

• Plumbing penetrations through insulated floors and ceilings
• Chimney penetrations through insulated ceilings and exterior walls
• Fireplace dampers
• Attic access hatches
• Recessed lights and fans in insulated ceilings
• Wiring penetrations through insulated floors, ceilings, and walls
• Missing plaster
• Electrical outlets and switches, especially on exterior walls
• Window, door, and baseboard moldings
• Dropped ceilings above bathtubs and cabinets

When in doubt, you can always call a trained Home Performance Contractor who will bring sophisticated equipment to your home (like a blower door kit and infrared camera) to detect the location of all your leaks. Find a professional near you on Green Building Blocks . If you can't find one listed there you can call one of the many nationwide training programs listed by Home Energy Partners.

STEP 2: Seal 'em Up

Depending upon the types of leaks you find, you'll need some supplies – caulk, backer rods (for gaps that are larger than ¼ inch) and expanding foam. Also make sure to wear gloves and a dust mask. Read all the details in Energy Star's DIY guide.

STEP 3: Insulate

Once you're done sealing, you are ready to insulate. In some cases, you'll find insulation that has deteriorated because of condensation. Replace any old insulation that was damaged by moisture and lay in additional insulation where needed – especially in the attic where most of you heat is probably escaping. The Energy Star guide gives you complete instructions about how to insulate, even in the tough to get spots like rafters and around lighting fixtures.

STEP 4: Start Stripping

Add weatherstripping to your doors and windows. You want to make sure that any exterior doors are fitted with a door sweep that will seal up the small crack between the door and the threshold. And for windows there are a variety of options. Felt and Foam strips are the easiest to apply and inexpensive, but they tend to deteriorate quickly. You can read about the many types of weatherstripping and where they work best by reading the EERE Consumer Guide to weatherstripping. If you have old windows and live in a cold climate, you will want to consider air gap films – sheets of plastic that go over the entire window. It will save you big time on winter heating bills.

STEP 5: Get Your Ducts in a Row

If you have forced air and your ducts are leaky (most are) your furnace is probably working harder than it was designed to in order to blow conditioned air into your home. Energy Star estimates that the efficiency loss for leaky ducts is as much as 20%. Duct or metal tape can be used to seal up the obvious gaps. After sealing, ducts in unconditioned areas should also be insulated.

With all that sealing you want to make sure you didn't cause backdrafting of gas or oil-burning appliances from over-sealing. Also if you live in a humid climate or want to ensure that your home is not trapping Radon or indoor contaminants like formaldehyde, you will need to make sure that your home is properly ventilated. The way to do this is by a Combustion Safety Test, which would be performed by your Home Performance Contractor.

When all is said and done, your buttoned up should be saving you 35% on you heating and cooling bill. For the typical American home that amounts to about $350 a year (a lot more if you live in a cold climate). And this is great for the environment. Imagine the impact if all 90 million homes that reported air leaks got buttoned up, the US would reduce its carbon emissions by 147 million tons, the equivalent of taking 27 million cars off the road.