Last Updated on July 5, 2024 by Spray Foam Insulation Plus
Finding and sealing air leaks is very important. Often, people underestimate the importance of sealing air leaks in their homes. The results of not sealing your air leaks are continuously fluctuating temperatures inside your home and your HVAC systems working harder than usual, which results in higher energy bills. The constant fluctuating temperatures will make your home’s environment uncomfortable, which is far from what a home should be.
Moreover, these air leaks cause the warm air from your heater or cool air from your air conditioner to escape. This means that your HVAC systems do not maintain a constant temperature. Because of this, people operate their appliances on a higher power setting, which results in higher costs of energy bills. Therefore, you need to find air leaks and seal them by installing spray foam insulation.
Edina Air Leaks Detecting Tools
The first and most basic way to detect air leaks is by using air leak detection tools. These tools are specifically made to detect air leaks; therefore, they are a great option. There are two main types of air leak detectors that we will discuss–Smoke Pencil and Ultrasonic. The Smoke Pencil Air Leak detector emits smoke that travels through the air leak gaps so that you can identify the air leak gaps easily. You only need to use this method on potential air leak areas in your home. The Ultrasonic air leak detector emits Ultrasound waves that identify the air leak holes. You can use either of these methods to identify air leak gaps and fill them up with proper spray foam insulation to maintain the energy efficiency of your home.
Blower Door Check
Another great method of detecting air leaks in your home is through the blower door check. A blower door is a machine that measures the airtightness of buildings; it will measure the airflow as well. You can use it to detect the tiny cracks and holes in your home through which air might be leaking. This way you can easily detect and seal the air leaks with spray foam insulation.
Flashlight Test
You can use the flashlight method at night when it is dark outside. All you need to do is turn all of your home’s lights off. Take a flashlight and flash it onto the areas where there might be gaps or cracks through which air might be leaking. While you do this, ask someone to go outside and check for the light rays that might be coming out through these cracks. In this way, you can easily identify air leaks in your home. However, you should keep in mind that this method will only work for slightly bigger cracks or holes. It will not identify very tiny air leaks.
Edina Pressurization Test
There are chances that despite following the flashlight test or any other methods, you have not located all the air leaks in your home. If so, you should consider conducting a pressurization test. When conducting this test, you should choose a windy day and turn off all the flammable appliances, such as the water heater and furnaces.
Then close all the doors, windows, and even fireplace flues. Turn on all of the exhaust fans or a large window fan, which will help to extract air from your house. After that, fire an incense stick and circulate it around the potential air leak areas. If you see the smoke being sucked out or blown around the room, then there is an air leak, and you should immediately seal it.
Spray Foam Insulation in Edina
Spray Foam Insulation is the best method for sealing air leaks in your home. It expands inside these small holes and cracks and fills them up, thereby making your home fully air-sealed. If you are interested in air sealing your home with spray foam insulation, contact us for more information about Spray foam insulation and its services.
For more information about our spray foam insulation services, feel free to contact Spray Foam Insulation Plus, the best insulation contractor in Edina, MN, today.
