Home Sealing is Important

Properly sealing your home can ensure a warm, comfortable environment in the winter and a cool, pleasant environment in the summer--all while reducing the cost of power bills and reducing demand on America's energy resources. Making sure all cracks, gaps, and leaks are sealed also makes a house more durable and helps ensure that the indoor environment is as healthy as possible. Sealing leaks reduces moisture in the air, which in turn, inhibits mold growth.



A professional or do-it-yourself home energy audit will help determine where air is leaking out of a home. In addition to identifying the leaks to seal, a homeowner needs to ensure that the home is still properly ventilated after sealing. Improper ventilation (air exchange from indoors to outdoors) can invite air quality problems such as moisture, mold, air pollutants, and odor.



Once the leaks have been identified, a professional or homeowner can begin sealing them by caulking or weatherstripping. Use caulk for a flexible seal of leaks smaller than one-quarter inch wide. Caulking compounds are sold in different strengths and properties. More information on choosing and applying an appropriate caulk is available at www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11270.



Weatherstripping, a flexible, resilient material used to seal leaks around windows and doors, can also improve the energy efficiency of a home. Determine the appropriate type of weatherstripping by the size of the leak and how often the window or door is used. More information on selecting weather stripping is available at www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11280.

Home Sealing is Important

CES

Small Choices Make Big Differences

Congratulations to the folks who took advantage of the opportunity to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions! Each one will receive an energy conservation kit.



Now let's measure your ecological footprint. Have you made behavioral changes in your energy consumption? Are you selecting EnergyStar appliances and making other green choices? Click on http://www.myfootprint.org/ and measure your environmental foot print. Enter your comment about what you learn by clicking on "Comments" in this blog. You will be surprised at how much your choices matter.