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These often overlooked sources of heat loss and
air leakage can cause heat to pour out and the
cold outside air to rush in -- costing you
higher heating bills.
Air leaks are the largest source of heating and
cooling loss in the home. Air leaks occur
through the small cracks around doors, windows,
pipes, etc. Most homeowners are well aware of
the benefits caulk and weatherstripping provide
to minimize heat loss and cold drafts.
But what can you do about the three largest
“holes” in your home -- the folding attic stair,
the fireplace and the clothes dryer? Here are
some tips and techniques that can easily,
quickly and inexpensively seal and insulate
these holes.
Attic
Stairs
When attic stairs are installed, a large hole
(approximately 10 square feet) is created in
your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that
were there have to be removed, leaving only a
thin, unsealed, sheet of plywood.
Your attic space is ventilated directly to the
outdoors. In the winter, the attic space can be
very cold, and in the summer it can be very hot.
And what is separating your conditioned house
from your unconditioned attic? That thin sheet
of plywood.
Often a gap can be observed around the perimeter
of the door. Try this yourself: at night, turn
on the attic light and shut the attic stairway
door -- do you see any light coming through?
These are gaps add up to a large opening where
your heated/cooled air leaks out 24 hours a day.
This is like leaving a window open all year
round.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to
add an attic stair cover. An attic stair cover
provides an air seal, reducing the air leaks.
Add the desired amount of insulation over the
cover to restore the insulation removed from the
ceiling.
Fireplaces
Sixty-five percent, or approximately 100 million
homes, in North America are constructed with
wood or gas burning fireplaces. Unfortunately
there are negative side effects that the
fireplace brings to a home especially during the
winter home-heating season. Fireplaces are
energy losers.
Researchers have studied this to determine the
amount of heat loss through a fireplace, and the
results are amazing. One research study showed
that an open damper on an unused fireplace in a
well-insulated house can raise overall
heating-energy consumption by 30 percent.
A recent study showed that for many consumers,
their heating bills may be more than $500 higher
per winter due to the air leakage and wasted
energy caused by fireplaces.
Why does a home with a fireplace have higher
heating bills? Hot air rises. Your heated air
leaks out any exit it can find, and when warm
heated air is drawn out of your home, cold
outside air is drawn in to make up for it. The
fireplace is like a giant straw sucking the
heated air from your house.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to
add a fireplace draftstopper. Available from
Battic Door, a company known for their energy
conservation products, a fireplace draftstopper
is an inflatable pillow that seals the damper,
eliminating any air leaks. The pillow is removed
whenever the fireplace is used, then reinserted
after.
Clothes
Dryer Exhaust Ducts
In many homes, the room with the clothes dryer
is the coldest room in the house. Your clothes
dryer is connected to an exhaust duct that is
open to the outdoors. In the winter, cold air
leaks in through the duct, through your dryer
and into your house.
Dryer vents use a sheet-metal flapper to try to
reduce this air leakage. This is very primitive
technology that does not provide a positive seal
to stop the air leakage. Compounding the problem
is that over time, lint clogs the flapper valve
causing it to stay open.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to
add a dryer vent seal. This will reduce unwanted
air infiltration, and keep out pests, bees and
rodents as well. The vent will remain closed
unless the dryer is in use. When the dryer is in
use, a floating shuttle rises to allow warm air,
lint and moisture to escape. |
