Reduce AC leaks with 3 quick and easy tricks

Turning on the air conditioning is a great way to stay cool on warmer days, but it can get expensive over time. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to save some money. When it’s time to use the AC, make sure to keep as much of your air inside as possible to avoid increasing energy bills. Especially if you are at risk of blacking out, as some areas have seen a significant recurring risk recently.

Whether you want to save money on your energy bills or control the temperature of your home, these three tips can help you insulate and airtight your home. You’ll need to airtight the house’s “envelope,” sealing the ductwork and adding attic insulation.

These are the most common air leakage problems in American homes that can make a big difference with little investment. And here’s how to get started with all three.

Air sealing of the ‘envelope’

First you will want to start by air sealing the house. Doing this will give you the most improvement with the least money spent. It is also crucial that you make your home airtight before doing any insulation. Otherwise you’re wasting your time. Fibrous insulation requires an air barrier to work as intended. Therefore, this is recommended last.

When talking about air sealing the ‘envelope’ of a home, it is important to note how air behaves naturally within a building. The pattern of air moving in and out of your home is known as the “stack effect” and explains why the temperature in your home often feels different on each floor. Heat rises and cold air moves to lower levels – so warm air leaves your home through the attic and cold air enters through a crawl space, unfinished basement or other unconditioned lower part of your home.

That’s why air sealing the upper and lower floors of your home, combined with insulation, is one of the best ways to combat air leakage.

When a window is drafty, it is immediately apparent to a homeowner. Leaks in attics or crawl spaces are usually worse for the temperature balance in your home, but are usually more difficult to detect. And these areas will be most helpful in counteracting the “stacking effect.” You’ll want to airtightly seal window treatments, doors, vents, fireplace and furnace ducts, and other fixtures such as pipes and wires that enter the “envelope” of the home.

Windows often have gaps around the trim and under the sill. You can use a caulking gun to seal these. Cut the top of the pipe with caulk at a 45 degree angle. Use the pin under the gun to break the seal and insert the tube into the caulking gun. Insert the caulking gun and press the trigger as you walk along the frame. The 45 degree angle allows the tip to form the bead of caulk into a neat line as it is applied, but it may still need to be touched up. You can easily do this with your finger. Don’t worry about getting it on your skin as the kit rinses off easily with water.

You can also use the caulk gun for areas such as a bathroom exhaust fan, floor vents, and other crevices. But when it comes to sealing a chimney, make sure you use a fireproof sealant instead for areas that are more combustible to ensure fire safety. And before airtightening a chimney flue, make sure the furnace is off and there is no fire going/that you have allowed it to cool sufficiently.

To seal the frame of the front or back door airtight, you can add a draft excluder. These doors may have a small gap between the door and the outside, which not only allows light to shine through, but also air to enter. You can purchase a weather stripping kit that comes with everything you need.

First you will need to remove any old existing weather stripping from your door frame. You can then install the new weather stripping. It is easier to start with the left and right sides of the frame first and then adjust the top with pressure. You will need to measure the side of your door frame and cut the weather stripping to size. And when you cut it, make sure you cut it from the metal side and you’ll get a cleaner cut.

Close the door and make sure it is locked before installing the weather stripping. If it’s not locked and you install the weather stripping too close, you can put a lot of stress on the lock and it could break or come out of the wood.

Align the weather stripping tightly to the side of the frame, but do not press too hard against the door. Using a drill, place the first screw in the center and then do the top and bottom. Now do the same steps for the other side – and again for the top.

For difficult places where there is a larger opening or wires are in the way, you can make these places airtight with tin foam. It is much easier to just squirt the foam into these openings and let it expand.

To use the can foam, attach the nozzle to the top and handle it gently. This won’t come from your clothes or carpet, which means you don’t want to make any stupid mistakes.

Again, leaks in your attic or crawl space are the most important areas to address. For example, you can spray the can foam on the openings around pipes and ventilation holes and the crevices in a crawl space and on the tops of the interior walls in the attic. If you have an unfinished basement rather than a crawl space, you can use caulk or foam to air seal the rim joists and sill plates.

Sealing the ductwork

If your ducts are leaking and are in an area without air conditioning (such as a crawl space, unfinished basement, cellar, attic, etc.), you are literally heating or cooling the outside air, spending a lot of money for nothing and missing out on those refreshing air for your own home. When you shut it off, more of the heat or air conditioning that should have been pumped into your home remains inside.

Not only that, but sealing your ducts will also improve the quality of your indoor air. If the duct is leaking, it can draw in dirt, dust, mold, and possibly radon from outside. Sealing the ductwork only allows the duct to draw in air that is already in the home.

To seal the ductwork in a lower room without air conditioning, you can use a mastic sealant. Mastic is good for sealing the joints of ductwork because it is liquid and can get into hard-to-reach places. It is also flexible as it resists expansion and contraction due to temperature changes.

The next part is simple. With a rubber glove, you can literally dip your hand into the bucket of mastic and spread it along the seams, joints and holes of the metal ductwork. Be careful not to cut yourself as metal ducts can have sharp edges.

Add attic insulation

Last but not least, you will want to insulate your attic space. As previously mentioned, insulating your attic before airtightening the attic floor won’t do much for you.

When it comes to insulating the attic space, it is important to note that the insulation and air barrier must be continuous and contiguous (meaning they touch each other). The ongoing part is that it is more effective to have 6 inches of insulation everywhere than 10 inches of insulation in a concentrated spot. The adjoining part is located wherever the drywall is located, the insulation should touch this. If it’s not touching (for example, if the insulation is on top of the wires and not underneath), the insulation won’t do anything.

Another thing to note is that you want to make sure there is no air gap between the layers of “batts”, the insulation strips.

In other words, you want the insulation to be the same depth as the joists if you are using batts and not loose (or blown) insulation, otherwise an air gap will be created when you add the second perpendicular layer. insulation.

If the depth is lower than the joist, there will be an air gap from the second layer; if the depth is higher than the joist, there will still be an air gap between the joist and the second layer. Only the first layer should be the same depth, but the second perpendicular layer can be thicker.

And the first layer should be as thick as necessary, depending on the Energy Star recommended R-value for your geographic location. The R-value is a measure of how effective a material is at preventing heat loss. The higher the R-value, the better.

Keep in mind that when insulating your attic, make sure you wear protective gear and cover all exposed body parts to avoid breathing in dust and fiberglass or getting it on your skin.

First you need to clean the joist so that the insulation can lie completely flat. Then place a piece of insulation into the bay and cut the length to fit snugly. Try to cut the batt as perfectly as possible, but it’s okay if you mess up – as long as you fill the depth of the bay evenly with insulation.

Then apply the second layer of filler perpendicularly over the beams, so that the wood is also insulated and not just the bay window.

Energy Audits and the Weatherization Assistance Program

These tips can help you minimize air leaks and cold spots in your home. But if you want a more in-depth professional opinion before trying some of these methods, you can get one energy audit done to your home to see where specific areas your home is lacking in energy efficiency.

The US Department of Energy also has one Weatherization tool at the state and local level if you qualify as low-income, are over age 60, or are part of a family with a disability. For more information, please contact your local utility company.