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Prioritize your leak-sealing efforts in these two areas to save on your energy bills
Are you worried about how much energy you’re using to heat and cool your home? Maybe you want to save money, or maybe you want to cut down on your consumption for the sake of the environment. In any case, you may have encountered all kinds of advice online about the importance of sealing up all the sneaky little leaks that are making it possible for heated or cooled indoor to escape, and for uncomfortable outside air to get in.
Luckily for you, you don’t actually have to find and fix every leaky door, window, electrical outlet, plumbing stack, recessed light, etc. in order to improve the energy efficiency of your home and see improvement in your HVAC system’s energy consumption.
You simply have to fix the leaks in two places:
THE TOP AND BOTTOM OF YOUR HOME.
Because of a phenomenon called the stack effect, any air leaks in your attic or in your basement or crawlspace will draw more air than a leak of similar size on the main level of your home.
Here’s how it works.
Due to the laws of physics, hot air rises and cold air sinks. Hot air also expands, meaning a structure containing hot air is “fuller” and under more pressure than one with cold air. So, your basement or crawlspace is always going to be colder and under less pressure than your attic.
If there are any leaks in your basement, they are going to suck outside air in really powerfully because of the low pressure down there. If there are leaks in your attic, they are going to push your indoor air out really powerfully because of the higher pressure up there. With both of these things occurring simultaneously, you will get a significant amount of air movement that can be powerful enough to draw air right past any leaks you may have on your main floors.
By fixing air leaks in your basement or crawlspace and in your attic, you can disrupt this flow of air, reduce its power, and thereby also reduce the air loss from your home.
Of course, sealing up leaks isn’t the only way to save money on your HVAC bills. You also need to be sure your heating and cooling systems are working their best. At Econo West Heating Air & Plumbing, we provide expert repairs and preventative maintenance for all kinds of furnaces, heat pumps, and air conditioners. Call us at (661) 947-2653 now and we’ll be happy to send out an experienced HVAC technician to advise you on your home’s energy efficiency.