Check For Air Leaks Now Before The Hot Weather Arrives
Summer means spending a lot of time indoors to escape the heat of the sun. Your air conditioner provides a comfortable environment to make the summer more bearable. However, running your air conditioning system also comes with higher energy bills, primarily if your HVAC system is operating below optimum levels.
Not only is AC maintenance vital in ensuring an optimal level of comfort, but making sure that your home doesn’t have any air leaks is crucial as well. If hot air is entering your home, then your AC has to work overtime, spiking your energy costs. Here’s how checking for air leaks around your home can help you achieve efficient cooling in the summer and why you should do it before hot weather arrives.
Check for Air Leaks To Ensure An Energy Efficient Home Leonardo NJ
Checking for air leaks is relatively easy and something any homeowner can do. You can start by doing a casual inspection of air ducts and vents. Other places where air leaks are likely to be found include:
- doors and windows
- plumbing, ducting, electrical wiring entry points through walls, floors, ceilings, etc.
- outlets and switch plates on the walls
- insulation
- gaps around windows, baseboards
- fireplace chimneys, furnaces, and water-heater vents
- the threshold under doors
Perform The Smoke Test To Check For Air Drafts
The smoke test is a simple test for air leaks that homeowners can do themselves. To do this, close all doors and windows in the home. All combustion appliances such as furnaces and water heaters should also be turned off. Next, turn on the exhaust vents in the bathroom and kitchen. This will create a negative pressure in the house that will suck outside air into the indoor space through an opening. Using a lit incense stick, check for leaks by placing the lit incense stick next to windows, doors. Any change in the smoke movements indicates a possible leak.
Hire A Professional HVAC Company To Ensure An Energy Efficient Home
Another option is to hire an auditor to do an energy audit on your home. The auditor will perform energy efficiency tests that are designed to pinpoint leakage that a casual inspection may miss.
Blower Door Test To Prevent Drafts
One test that your auditor can do is the blower door test. To do this test, the auditor seals up the home. A fan is then attached to the door frame of a home. The fan is turned on and pulls the air out of the home, resulting in lower air pressure inside the house. Once the fan stops, the auditor uses a smoke stick to locate areas where higher air pressure is leaking back into the home through a crack or leak.
Sealing Your Home: Reduce Energy Costs & Increase Comfort
Once you have determined that leaks are present and their location, the next step is to seal those leaks to prevent any energy loss. The most common and easily the most convenient solution would be to add a fresh layer of caulking over any gap or leak that is causing problems. Homeowners can also apply weatherstripping to seal gaps along the window and doors, and adjust thresholds to eliminate any gaps where air can leak through.
Another option is to add additional insulation, especially if you know that the existing insulation in your home is inadequate for keeping cooler air indoors. Work with professionals to replace old insulation with new ones so you can avoid cool air from moving outside.
Benefits Of Checking Your Home For Air Leaks
Checking your home for air leaks does more than help you save on summer’s cooling bills. A well-maintained, leak-free home allows the heating and cooling system to work more efficiently. Consequently, your HVAC system can last longer than a system that has to work overtime.
Checking for leaks before the hot season rolls in to ensure that you can feel comfortable and cool as soon as the heat starts to rise. Waiting to repair any ventilation or cooling problem when summer is already in full swing may mean days of hot, uncomfortable, humid indoor air. This situation is something that you want to avoid, especially if you have small children or elderly family members living in the house.
Conclusion
Keep your home’s cooling system in good shape. Check for leaks and gaps today or call your local HVAC maintenance provider.
To schedule an appointment, contact Lawes Company.
The HVAC techs at Lawes Company know what your HVAC system needs to run as efficiently as possible while creating the most comfortable indoor environment. As mentioned above, an energy efficient air conditioner will use less power, keeping your cooling costs to a minimum. Also, we can help find air leaks in your home to ensure further efficiency and lower your monthly energy expenses.
Each tech uses a complete air conditioner tune-up checklist to be sure that your AC is working its best all summer long. Our HVAC services are very affordable, and we guarantee your satisfaction. To schedule an appointment, call Lawes Company today.
Some of the areas that we service include Atlantic Highlands, Belford, Leonardo, Navesink and these zip codes 07716, 07718, 07737, 07752 as well as all surrounding areas in Monmouth County, New Jersey.
Click here to contact us now or call us at (732) 741-6300 to find out more!