Your air conditioning system works hard to keep your home at a comfortable temperature, but how much of that effort is going to waste? Many Australian homes waste a staggering amount of electricity every year due to easily preventable or fixable air leaks. By letting the cold escape from your home, your system has to unnecessarily increase its output to compensate.
Thankfully, finding and sealing these cracks is fairly simple. Although there are some professional services in Sydney that can deal with this problem, you should be able to do it yourself if you have some experience in home improvement. Set aside some time this weekend to finish this project, and you could end up cutting your yearly energy bill by an impressive amount.
1. Know the common spots – Most of the time, you can find air leaks in common areas throughout your home. Check these out first before anything else. Here are a few examples:
- Gaps around your doors and windows
- Places where cables and wiring go through your wall
- Your attic, especially the entrance leading to it and any windows or vents
- Outlets and electrical switches
- Plumbing, utility access points, and ducts
2. Checking for leaks – How do you determine if air is leaking? There are two popular and easy methods, though both require that you turn your air conditioning off. First is the “hand test”, where you just hold your hand over the gap to see if you feel any air coming in. The second is a bit more reliable; use a candle or a lit incense stick instead, as any wind will affect the fire or smoke.
3. Plugging the gaps – Once you have found out where the air is escaping, you have two sealing options: caulking and weatherstripping. Generally, caulking is good for sealing cracks and gaps in frames, while weatherstripping is for the moving components of your doors and windows. If you don’t know how to use either of these, This Old House and other websites have plenty of easy guides.
Making your home airtight is cheap, easy, and gives you a phenomenal return on investment. Of course, don’t forget that your air conditioning system itself plays the biggest role in how energy efficient your home’s climate control is. Do you think that your current model is old or outdated? Don’t worry, just get in touch with us today, and we’ll help you pick out the perfect system for your home’s needs.