Understanding Different Air Sealing Methods
New Air Sealing Methods
If your house is not sealed adequately to keep conditioned air from leaking out and unconditioned air from entering into your home, you are likely to get higher electricity bills every month. Excessive air seepage and insufficient insulations are primary reasons for high energy bills in most homes. Insulating and sealing air leaks by hiring air sealing contractors can save energy and decrease your utility bills.
Types of air leaks
Successful and appropriate air sealing is necessary if you want more durability and efficiency for your home. You can perform a full audit of your house to know if there is any energy loss occurring in the construction. Most homes lose energy in common areas such as the basements and attics. It could be due to poor installation or using low quality insulation materials. Usually, two types of air-leaks occur in homes, and their details are given below.
Delivery System: The ducts can allow conditioned air to leak out of the house before it reaches its delivery point. Due to this, your heating or cooling equipment may have to do extra work to maintain the desired temperature. A leaking duct system allows untreated air to infiltrate into the house and circulate in different areas of the structure.
Thermal envelope: The entire structure can allow untreated air to leak in and treated air to leak out of the house. Installing drafts in the house may not be a good investment as they drastically increase or decrease temperature in specific areas of the house.
Air sealing methods
Air sealing contractors inspect many areas of the house such as your attics, crawl spaces, and basements to check for air leaking and infiltration. Air sealing methods like weather-stripping and caulking are used to seal gaps and opening in walls, around fixtures, and in the ceiling. The methods are simple, and are extremely effective in minimizing air loss.
Caulking: A silicone-based material is used to fill crack and gaps between joints of various fixtures of the house. The caulk is filled into openings in the walls and foundations. Caulking is also use to seal gaps between window panes and its surrounding supports.
Weather-stripping: It is used to seal openings around fixtures that involve movement, such as windows and doors. Air sealing contractors use weather-strips to seal openings between these fixtures without obstructing their movement.
Air- sealing should be backed with an effective ventilation system. A sealed house with improper ventilation can trap stale air and moisture that can cause mold buildup and bad odor.
About the author
Grace is a blogging enthusiast and likes to write about a wide range of topics. For more information on air sealing contractors, contact the energy start certified contractors at Steinhardt Builders.
Post Views: 744