
Residential Energy Efficiency BlogTuesday, December 22 2020
So don't feel bad or lose hope that you can actually have a cozy home. You just might have to look in a few other places to get to the real problem. As a former window contractor turned certified home energy auditor I have been on both sides of the coin. Early on I was convincing people (with the right intentions and wrong information) to replace windows to solve draft issues. Now, I am on the other side getting called out to do an energy audit to check windows because it is cold and the new windows still seem drafty after installation. It took me years to figure it all out, but when you stop and think about it all for a moment - it really makes a lot of sense. So, with the right fixes and new windows, you can move much closer to complete comfort. Here are five reasons why your new window replacement investment might leave you asking:
1. The Windows Were Not the Draft Source to Begin With
FACT: Windows Account for Only 10% of Total Air Leakage in a Typical Home A misconception for most homeowners is that windows are the only location in your home's "shell" that air can get in and out. But, there are many other places around your house that might be much more connected to the outside than windows. And, a lot of these gateways are hiding in plain sight! If your home is stubbornly drafty you need to think about your home in three-dimensional ways. This does not mean that you wasted money on windows, or that you need special glasses. It just means that you need to shift your hunt for the drafts by starting to look up and down instead of only through the sides.
Read on to learn about the stack effect and how getting the basics from this physics phenomenon can help you begin to think in three dimensional ways about drafts.
2. Understanding Stack Effect & How it Can Solve Your Draft IssueIn the book Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki, he talks about how as school children we are never really taught the vital lessons of personal finance and how to stay out of debt and save for the future. Similarly, I say everyone should learn about the stack effect when ready to purchase a home. Understanding how it can play a big part in the drafts that are felt around your home could go a really long way towards better comfort and energy efficiency. The stack effect can be simply understood by taking one concept we all learn as young children: Hot Air Rises Here is the part they don't tell you when it comes to your home. When the warm air rises in your house it escapes through all of the holes in your ceiling right up into the attic - especially if there is no air-barrier in place or if the air-barrier is mis-aligned. Many of the holes where this is happening you cannot see, but they do exist! This problem causes a conveyor belt in a sense. When the warm air goes out at the top new cold air gets drawn in down low - from the leaky parts of the basement or an open crawl space. Stack effect is why recessed lights and rim joists should receive way more attention than windows. A slotted recessed light is no match for the warm air pressure and it drags cold air in down low. As a result - your comfort and money go right into the attic. Slot filled recessed light with light bulb removed. Leaky recessed lights may be one example of why you feel drafts despite thinking things were sealed up once the windows were installed. You are not convinced your basement is leaky? Watch this!
Here are a few other articles that you might find useful if you like this one... 3. Fireplace Flue & Recessed Lights - Sealing Up "Gateways" to the OutsideIf you just put brand new windows in and you still feel drafts, then look around a bit. One easy way to find drafts is to look for the "gateways" to the outside. For example, one out of every five customers that I do an energy audit for do not have the flue shut on their fireplace chimney which is a huge gateway to the outside. Recessed lights are also gateways to the attic (outside) and it is a good practice to check the dampers on any exhaust fans you have venting to the outside. A mis-aligned, damaged or non-existent damper can be a real draft maker. Solutions include covering and sealing can lights at the attic floor, improving exhaust terminations and using chimney "balloons" to seal faulty flue dampers.
4. Improperly Treated Crawl Space/ Basement
If the construction style of your home is on a crawl space that is open, then you might experience high drafts. An open crawl space will allow unconditioned air into the the crawl space and unless there is a proper pressure boundary separating the foundation area from the room above, then drafts will surely occur through the floor. If you have a full basement it is very likely that the rim joist in any finished or unfinished area has not been properly air sealed and this will allow air infiltration in the basement area that will cause drafts through walls and floors into the living space above.
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