Air leaks—tiny cracks and gaps that you might not even realize are there but can allow significant air movement in and out of your house—account for 25-40% of the energy you use every year for heating and cooling. That air movement often creates uncomfortable indoor drafts.
Here’s where you’re most likely to experience drafts and discomfort in your home:
1. Exterior Doors
If you’ve ever walked past your front door in the middle of winter and felt the chills, you know—older doors can be drafty, making you uncomfortable and wasting energy. Replacement doors lose less heat, keeping you comfortable year-round.
2. Windows
Older windows not only let lots of heat escape through single-pane glass, but cracks and gaps around their edges can let air enter and escape your home throughout the year. Modern window replacements are energy efficient, keep you comfortable, and look great, too!
3. Crawl Spaces & Basements
Air movement in a home often happens at the very top and bottom, because of the differences in air pressure between the inside and outside of your house. In the winter, cool air enters through your basement and crawl spaces, and you’ll often feel cold drafts coming up through your floorboards.
4. Attics
In the summer, the direction of air movement is reversed, and outdoor air infiltrates your home through your attic. While you’re less likely to notice indoor drafts in the summer (the difference in air pressures isn’t as great), warm air often enters your top floor from the attic through recessed lighting and attic hatches.
5. Chimneys
If you have an older home, it’s likely that you can feel drafts around your chimney. Because chimneys get hot, builders leave a framing gap around them, but unfortunately, we commonly see that these gaps are left unsealed, leaving space for significant air leaks, indoor drafts, and energy waste.
