How Homeowners Can Reduce Home Heat Loss to Improve Efficiency and Comfort

When you reduce home heat loss, several things are accomplished at once: improved energy efficiency, reduced utility expenses and enhanced whole-house comfort. The trick is knowing which items to prioritize in order to optimize these benefits. Warm air moves to areas with cooler temperatures, which means the warm conditioned air inside your home will do whatever it can to move outside if given the opportunity.

Stop Heat Loss in its Tracks

The following is a list of improvements that reduce home heat loss and will work to protect your home from heat gain once the warmer months arrive.

• Seal the leaks – Any cracks or gaps in your home’s exterior provide the ideal escape mechanism for warm indoor air. With just a couple of hours and a tube or two of inexpensive caulking, you can seal the visible leaks in your home’s envelope. Seal the cracks and gaps in the siding, paying special attention to where it meets the foundation and roof. Look around door and window frames, as well as the penetrations made by plumbing or electrical work. Also, take time to inspect your entire chimney and round vents or flues. Once your caulking is complete, inspect weatherstripping around doors and windows and replace any that seems old or no longer seal tight.
• Upgrade insulation – If your home was built more than 15 years ago, your insulation may not be up to current standards. Use the map provided by Energy Star to check the Recommended Levels of Insulation for your geographic location. If you can’t afford to upgrade the insulation in your entire home, begin with the attic and crawl spaces, which are the most prone to heat loss. Then work your way through the exterior walls.
• Maintain the HVAC system – Believe it or not, the same system that generates heat for your home can be a source of heat loss if it isn’t adequately maintained. This can occur via leaky or uninsulated ducts and airflow obstructions. Inadequately sized equipment or a single-zoning system can also waste energy.

Contact All American Heating & Cooling to learn more steps to reduce home heat loss.