1. What is a home envelope?

2. Can my house be sealed too tight?

3. Are there tax advantages to using Zerodraft's services?

1. What is air sealing and why is it important?

2. If I replace my old leaky windows and doors with new energy efficient ones, will I yield tremendous energy savings?

3. If I caulk around the outside of my house, won’t that seal it?

4. If I stuff fiberglass insulation into cracks, won’t it stop the air flow?

1. Since heat rises, shouldn’t I put more insulation in the attic?

2. Since my basement isn’t heated, should I worry about insulating my basement walls?

3. If I add new siding to my house with a half inch of insulation behind it, won’t it result in significant energy savings?

1. If I install a ceiling fan on my 8’ ceiling will I keep warm air from accumulating near the ceiling and will I save considerable money?

2. If I turn the thermostat to 75-80 degrees initially, will my home warm up faster?

3. Should I keep my pilot light burning during the summer to keep moisture from accumulating in my heat exchanger?

4. If I turn down my thermostat at night or when I am gone, will I use more energy to warm up the house again?

1. What is a home envelope?
The exterior of your home is also called the "envelope" or shell. (See the orange line showing the envelope in the diagram at right.) The insulation, outer walls, ceiling, doors, windows, and floors all work together to control airflow in and out of the structure, repel moisture, and prevent heat from being lost or gained inside your home. A high-performance envelope helps maintain a consistent temperature even under extremely hot or cold conditions. The goal of Home Sealing is to improve the envelope for greater comfort and energy efficiency.

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2. Can my house be sealed too tight?
It is impossible to seal an existing home too tightly. A common misconception is that the house needs to "breathe". Spot ventilation, such as kitchen and bath vents, should be adequate for allowing any unwanted odors, fumes and moisture out of the house, while allowing the shell of your home to do what it should, keep out the elements: rain, snow, ice, wind, cold in winter and heat in summer. If you allow the shell, or envelope to "breathe" you are allowing uncontrolled migration of air in and out.

3.  Are there tax advantages to using Zerodraft's services?
Yes, some of our energy efficiency methods apply.  Please consult with your tax advisor for clarification.

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1. What is air sealing and why is it important?
Air sealing is simply closing holes, cracks, and gaps where air can pass into or out of your home. On hot and cold days, you pay money to run an air conditioner or a furnace to maintain your home at a comfortable temperature. A house that leaks air costs more to heat or cool because your system must work longer to "condition" the air. In addition, sitting next to one of those leaks (or drafts) in the winter can result in considerable discomfort. Sealing air leaks will help provide a more comfortable environment all year long and help lower energy bills.

The biggest gaps are most often found in the attic and the basement. We use professional-grade caulk, spray foam, and weather stripping to air seal areas typically too expansive for most homeowners to tackle with low-grade, shelf brand products.

2. If I replace my old leaky windows and doors with new energy efficient ones, will I yield tremendous energy savings?
Only about 15% of air leakage is through windows and doors, and if a single-glazed window with a storm is replaced with a double-glazed window, the conduction losses have not been lowered at all. The largest sources of air leakage are often overlooked. These include the band joist area at the top of the foundation, and holes into the attic. There are many good reasons to replace your windows: if they are structurally unsound, or to improve appearance, for ease of use or cleaning. But the cost of new windows is usually so high that it is difficult to justify their replacement on energy savings alone, despite what many window contractors would have you believe. We offer replacement services too, but unless you have very old, single pane windows, we will not promote tremendous energy savings as a benefit to replacing your current windows.

3. If I caulk around the outside of my house, won’t that seal it?
Caulking around the interior of the home around the woodwork, baseboard, band joist and in the attic is the only sure way to significantly reduce air leakage. Caulking on the outside is mainly for keeping rain out of the walls and doesn’t significantly slow air leakage. It also doesn’t stop moisture from entering the walls from the inside and causing condensation problems.

4. If I stuff fiberglass insulation into cracks, won’t it stop the air flow?
Fiberglass is a good insulator and makes a great furnace filter, but it doesn’t stop air infiltration. It may slow it down some but caulking or a closed cell foam must be used in order to stop air infiltration. (Visit HomeEnergy.org for more information.)

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  Heating

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