How to Find Air Leaks in Your Home

Energy prices continue to rise now that winter is upon us. Maybe you're struggling to keep your house warm or maybe you're just overwhelmed by that heating bill. Alternative energy can help, but increasing your energy efficiency is the better place to start. There are a few simple things you can do to find leaks in your home that may be letting precious, heated air get away. Don't just rely on a qualified technician's "energy audit." Follow these steps to save both money and energy.

Instructions

1. The space under your front door is the most obvious place to start your investigation. But there are less obvious gaps that can be just as costly. Inspect whereever two different materials meet. Examine all door and window frames as well as bricks, siding, stucco, and foundation. Also look at mail chutes, electrical and gas service entrances, outdoor water faucets. Check where dryer vents or cable, TV and phone lines pass through your walls. If you have central air, make sure the vents and fans fit snugly.

2. Shine a flashlight at night over potential gaps while someone helps you from outside. If there are any large cracks, rays of light will shine through. You can't see small cracks this way.

3. Shut doors and windows on a piece of paper. If you can pull the paper out without tearing it, you have a leak.

4. Depresurize your home (see below).

Depressurize your home

1. Turn off your heat on a cold, very windy day.

2. Shut all windows and doors.

3. Turn on all exhaust fans that blow air outside, such as bathroom and stove vents and fans.

4. Light an incense stick and pass it along the edges of potential leak sites. Where the smoke is sucked out of or blown into the room, you have a draft.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't want to turn off your heater to depressurize your home, you can just turn on all your exhaust fans.

• A qualified technician's blower door test will depressurize your home to reveal the location of leaks. A complete "energy audit" will also help determine where in your home needs more insulation.