What Spaces of Your House Should You Air Seal?
Looking for help understanding what areas of the home you should air seal? Check out our article for a comprehensive look.
In addition to insulation, air sealing is one of the most important things you should do to improve your household's safety, comfort, and health. If you have air leaks in your home that you need to patch up, look no further.
Do you have any unsealed areas of your home that are causing unwanted and uncomfortable drafts?
Have you heard about the air seal process but aren't sure if it is worth the investment?
Read on for an air seal guide that will cover what you need to know about the basics of air sealing, why it is essential for home efficiency, and who you can call for help.
What Is Air Sealing?
Have you ever felt an uncomfortable draft around your windows or doors, or from your attic? If you have, then that means there are unsealed spaces allowing air and energy transfer between inside and outside.
An unsealed home does not have the energy-efficient weather-stopping power it could. This can cause your HVAC system to work overtime, and almost half of the total energy usage in a home is attributed to heating and cooling.
Air sealing is the process of sealing spaces in your home such as walls, ceilings, windows, doors, attics, and gaps and cracks to create a thermal boundary. This keeps the outside air out and inside air in.
A thermal boundary created by air sealing divides the interior of your home from the exterior, keeping your energy dollars right where they should be, and making your home more comfortable. With these areas of your home sealed, you will see an improvement in your home's efficiency and temperature regulation.
Why Should I Air Seal My Home?
Every homeowner deserves to live in a healthy and energy-efficient home. Air Sealing not only eliminates drafts but also helps prevent mold and mildew build-up.
Air sealing divides the interior of your home from the exterior, which keeps your home more comfortable. It also keeps your energy dollars right where they should be. It helps to maximize the energy you purchase for heating and cooling year-round.
Most homes, particularly older ones, can be very inefficiently air-sealed and insulated. This is usually simply overlooked in traditional construction and can lead to major problems shortly down the road.
When a home isn’t efficiently air sealed and insulated, the excess flow of hot or cold air, which costs so much to make, leaks right out through tiny cracks and unsealed spaces. This air exchange invites allergens and moisture into your home and wastes energy.
Should I Air Seal My Attic?
Yes, all homeowners should have a professional check their attic to see if it needs to be air-sealed. The roof over your attic is where a majority of energy transfer occurs between inside and outside.
Increasingly expensive heat escapes out of your home through your attic during the winter months and the heat from the summer sun beating down on your roof intrudes through your attic during the summer. This creates an exceptional thermal boundary in your attic and is your home’s best defense.
Yet according to the Department of Energy (DOE), more than 80% of homes built prior to 1980 have little or no attic insulation. If your home isn't adequately air sealed or insulated, your home’s conditioned air will slip through gaps and escape out the top of your home.
By reducing the air escaping through the top of your home, you maximize the energy you purchase for heating and cooling year-round, and reduce the uncomfortable drafts it creates.
Should I Air Seal Without Insulation?
You don't have to insulate your home when you have someone come to air seal. However, most companies do both simultaneously because they work best together.
Air sealing and insulation work best together. Insulation locks in warmth in the winter and cool air in the summer, and air sealing stops excess airflow. Even if your walls are heavily insulated, when your home lacks proper air sealing and insulation, your home does not have the energy-efficient weather-stopping power it could.
A high level of attention to detail in air sealing and insulating will ensure that your home stays at comfortable temperatures during every season while reducing energy costs.
Where Should You Air Seal?
In general, because air leakage is cumulative, you should air seal any part of your home that has an air leak. When you hire a professional to air seal your home, they will first focus on your attic and the house's foundation. This is because they are the two largest culprits when it comes to unwanted and excessive airflow.
Attic Air Sealing
There are many different ways air can get through into your attic. In most attics gaps and cracks invite unwanted air, but so will ductwork, bathroom vents, electrical wiring, plumbing, and lighting fixtures. Attic air sealing with high-quality and eco-friendly materials will stop the flow of air and solve these issues.
Foundation Air Sealing
As the years go by, your home's foundation will develop small gaps and crevices. When you have a professional do the job, they will seal your foundation and the beam, stud, and joist cavities around the foundation that can expose your foundation to the elements.
Other Areas to Seal
As mentioned earlier, even leaky doors and windows can be the culprit for excessive airflow into your home. To prevent this from being an ongoing problem, you can hire a professional to fill in those odd-shaped spaces using a variety of energy-efficient insulation and weatherproofing barriers.
How Much Does It Cost to Air Seal?
The cost to air seal your foundation, attic, or other parts of your home will vary based on different factors. Each space will need to be evaluated individually for specific circumstances including the size of the space and how complicated it will be to seal specific spaces within your home.
Another factor is the cost charged by the contractor. Everyone creates their own prices, so it may be best to shop around before committing to a company.
Although we cannot state an exact price, you can expect to pay between $1,000 to $5,000 to seal your attic or other parts of your home. Again, the size of your home or the area you wish to seal will mainly drive the price of your air seal.
Additional Considerations for Cost
Another critical factor to keep in mind is the type of material the contractor uses. Sometimes creating a healthier and more comfortable home by using low-carbon, eco-friendly materials can reduce a home's carbon footprint and be less expensive than using environmentally damaging spray foam.
If your home lacks insulation and air sealing, it is advisable to have a professional inspect your heating, air conditioning, and ventilation systems. Many times, HVAC and insulation occupy the same spaces in your home, and an insulation contractor can get any home on the path toward energy conservation by installing energy-efficient heating, cooling, and ventilation systems.
The best way to figure out how much it will cost to air seal areas of your home is to request a site visit from an insulation and air sealing contractor. Specialists have many tools at their disposal to create an accurate quote when visiting your home.
Some specialists can use resources including blower door testing (which measures the airflow in a home), thermal imaging cameras (which can reveal gaps, cracks, and air leaks through temperature change), and high-resolution photos of the area.
Benefits of Air Sealing
Besides saving on your cooling and heating expenses, air sealing comes with other financial and safety benefits. For example, air sealing will help you prevent mold and moisture.
Reduces Mold and Moisture
It doesn't take much for mildew and mold to grow in your house. All it takes is a small hole in your roof, which can lead to water damage. That water damage can then turn into mold.
Climate-controlled membranes provide a seal against moisture condensing inside your home in winter and allow humidity to escape during the hot summer months. The reliability of smart air sealing systems guarantees impressive protection against moisture damage to structures, even on demanding structures such as steep roofs with sheet metal covering, roof linings with asphalt roof membranes, flat roofs, and green roofs.
Inhaling mold particles can cause serious health issues, especially if you or someone in your household is allergic.
Other issues caused by mold include the following:
Damage to belongings or furniture
A foul odor
Damage to your house's integrity
Mold remediation is not a cheap feat. The average cost to take care of a mold infestation is around $5,000, depending on the size of the affected area.
Better Air Quality
Gaps in your attic or other unsealed areas may invite unwanted contaminants, allergens, or pollen into your home. This type of problem is extremely severe, especially in the summertime.
Sealing those gaps will prevent you from having to dust your home constantly. It is also an excellent way to improve your family's allergy symptoms, especially if one of you has respiratory health problems.
Saves You Money
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), most homeowners lose around 25% of their heating and cooling energy due to air leaks in their attics. Depending on the size of your house, you can save about $300 each year for your A/C costs.
Although many people may see air sealing as a pricey expense, it is an excellent investment. When you air seal your home, you won't have to touch the thermostat too often.
Save on Your Energy Bill
Air sealing and insulating your home can help to modernize your home. An air seal specialist can help you to reduce your home’s carbon footprint and energy bills in a healthy, comfortable home.
Upgrading your home with air sealing can ensure your home will stay at comfortable temperatures during every season while reducing energy costs. A passionate air sealing specialist can get your home on the path toward energy conservation.
Contact us today to set up a site visit and an energy audit. Our team is happy to help and prepared to answer any questions or concerns you have about creating a more energy-efficient house! We hope to hear from you soon
