Air Leakage in A Home

All homes leak air and when the air leaks new air enters the building to replace the leaked air. It’s not necessarily bad to leak some air so that newer fresher air can be replaced. However, each time the new air enters the building it needs to be reheated or cooled resulting in energy consumption. We use a blower door test to ensure that an acceptable amount of air leakage escapes from the building.

Air Leakage also occurs in ductwork within the home. This type of air leakage should be kept to a minimum by ensuring that the ducts are as sealed as possible. Air leakage in the ductwork will usually end up within the walls or unfinished areas such as basements, attics or crawl spaces. Duct leakage testing is done to ensure that the ducts are as tight as possible and the conditioned air flows through the register and into the home as intended.

Refer to the graphic below for common air leakage areas in a home.