For everyone hearing perhaps too much information about insulation, you may be wondering why air sealing is important for your Albuquerque home.
Though less trumpeted, air sealing is an equal partner to insulation in providing energy efficiency, comfort, and good indoor air quality.
What is Air Sealing?
Is air sealing worth it? Worth what? Lower energy bills, a smaller carbon footprint, fewer drafty rooms? Or are you hoping for something more, like improved indoor air quality?
With properly performed air sealing and a good balance of the right insulation, your Albuquerque home gains all those benefits. Air sealing separates the untreated, outside air from the properly filtered, warmed or cooled indoor air. It wraps your home in a virtual windbreaker, stopping drafts and allowing well-placed insulation in walls and attic to maintain a perfect indoor environment.
Air sealing begins with experts tracking down every gap in your attic which allows air to transfer from outside to inside. This includes checking and sealing all penetrations.
- Junction boxes
- Soffits
- Dropped ceilings
- Recessed lighting
When these tiny openings are stopped with modern technology like expanding foam, blown-in insulation, weatherstripping, and caulk, your home’s central air conditioning system can do its job to cool your home all summer. Your furnace, wood stove, or wood furnace can provide ample heat without you worrying about cold drafts or high energy bills.
Economy and Ecology
A correctly air-sealed home allows your home’s insulation to keep treated air inside and untreated air outside. Contrary to myth, air sealing does not make your house a vacuum chamber. No matter how diligently an expert crew ferrets out the many paths for air in and out of your home, air will still come and go. Consider opening a front door — plenty of air is exchanged in just those few seconds.
Your home’s air ventilation system also keeps air circulating, so you always have plenty of fresh, filtered air. With good air sealing, you gain energy efficiency for your home’s heating and air conditioning equipment. The systems often run less often, lowering your energy bill and reducing energy consumption, which is good for your wallet and the environment.
Good air sealing, paired with the recommended R60 insulation, is a wise investment. To hear more about why air sealing is important, contact us at Millers today. We have the tools, crews, and experience to provide expert air sealing for your Albuquerque home.
