Air Sealing

Air sealing is one of the most affordable and effective ways to improve your home’s comfort and energy efficiency. It can:

Reduce energy waste in your home
Save you money on your energy bills
Get rid of cold drafts in the winter
Make your home less humid in the summer
Improve your indoor air quality

Air sealing should be paired with insulation and ventilation to work optimally . When done correctly, it won’t make your house “too tight” and you’ll notice the benefits right away.

Why You Need to Air Seal

Most homes are not airtight; there are gaps, cracks, and seams located throughout, which air can easily get through. In the typical home, significant volumes of air enter through cracks near the basement and exit through ceiling cracks and penetrations on the building’s top floor.

Insulation alone is not enough to solve this problem because it can only block heat, not air. Even with good attic insulation, you will still have air leakage if you don’t air seal. These leaks add up to waste a tremendous amount of energy.

Sustainergy Cooperative addresses these issues with our home air sealing services. Before insulating, we spend time tracing wires, wall tops and top plates, ductwork, plumbing, and more to pinpoint the openings and seal them shut with foam and other air barriers to stop these leaks in their tracks.

Common Sources of Air Leaks in a Home

There are many sources of air leakage that can contribute to a drafty home and high energy bills, as shown in the picture below. The most significant sources of air leakage tend to be in the attic and around basement rim joists. Sealing these areas first will have the greatest impact on your home’s energy efficiency and comfort.

Air Sealing Doesn’t Replace Insulation!

Air sealing and insulation are a one-two punch for home weatherization.

Loose blown insulation stops heat from conducting in and out of your house, but it can’t do anything about air leakage—air moves right through most insulation materials if you don’t air seal.

Think about insulation as the down lining in your winter coat and air sealing as the wind-proof shell. You need both to keep you warm!

Insulation and air sealing don’t just work better together—problems can occur if you do one and not the other. Here’s an example. Air sealing helps stop damp and humid air from coming into your home. If you insulate without air sealing, that humid air will travel right through your insulation. Once your insulation gets wet, it won’t work anymore. Moisture will also lead to issues like mold growth, which can eat away at your home and make your family sick.

Air Sealing Services Near You in Greater Cincinnati

Ready to start saving energy and stop wasting money? Call Sustainergy Cooperative, the leading local insulation and air sealing contractor in the Cincinnati area. We are a worker-owned cooperative that puts results and customer satisfaction above all else. Our team of worker-owners is invested in the success of your insulation and air sealing project because your success is their success. We focus on solutions, not sales, and will never push you to buy something you don’t need. We also offer financing and we can help you take advantage of new energy efficiency tax credits and rebates for insulation and air sealing services.