The Best in Weatherization: Making Your Home Energy Efficient

What is weatherization? Weatherization is the process of protecting your home from the elements, like cold and wind, to achieve comfort and energy efficiency.

According to the Department of Energy, a typical home has more than a half mile of gaps and cracks, allowing your hard-earned dollars to flow out around windows, doors and electrical outlets.

By following three steps: identifying air leaks in the home, sealing the air leaks, and adding extra "green" insulation, you will be making incredible energy-saving improvements.

While it seems a simple process, it must be done right to be effective with energy efficient savings.

If all air leaks aren't found, sealed and insulated, you won't be getting the adequate results of your investment.

Owner Steve Tetreault and his Building Performance Technical Advisor are both certified by the Building Performance Institute, an organization behind the national standards for energy-saving residential retrrofit work.

Our company is also certified by Honeywell, undergoing hands-on training in the safe handling and installation of weatherization products.

We have the knowledge and the capability to help you enjoy the comfort and savings that weatherizing your home can offer. ThermalTec provides building weatherization in Williamsburg, the Peninsula, New Kent County, West Point and Richmond.

Take a look at this recent article in which weatherization is deemed as a "win win" situation.

BPI Certified Professionals: Steve Tetreault, Owner and President Kevin Ries, Building Performance Technical Advisor

The average home in America uses $2,100 worth of energy in a year. Air leaks alone can account for an incredibly large amount of a home's energy loss. As a homeowner, you want to stay warm n the winter and cool in the summer.

According to Energy Star, if you add up all the hidden air leaks in your home, they can equal a hole the size of an open window. That's pretty significant.

Air leaks are typically found around or behind:

• Windows and doors



• Kneewalls



• Attic Hatches



• Wiring Holes



• Plumbing Vents



• Open Soffits



• Recessed Lights



• Furnace Flues or Duct Chaseways



• Basement Rim Joists (where the foundation meets the wood framing)

To identify and pinpoint the leaks, we perform a blower door test. (Learn more about blower door tests and energy audits here).

Once the leaks have been located, we seal them to keep the elements out and keep warm or cool air in.

By sealing these leaks, your home will be more energy efficient. You and your family will feel more comfortable, and your energy bills will be reduced.

Adding insulation is the next important step toward making your home energy efficient. Insulation helps keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Because it works best when air is not moving through or around it, it is important to seal air leaks before installing insulation to insure that you get the best performance.

Fiberglass is generally frowned upon because the manufacturing and installation process exposes residents to small particles of glass. Many older attics are typically insulated with fiberglass batts which, in most cases, is not performing well.

For fiberglass batt insulation to perform at its rated level, it must not have any gaps or voids around it.

"Tune up" your insulation by making sure that it is snug to the ceiling surface and to the edges of the framing, then adding more insulation.

Covering the fiberglass batts in your attic with more of the same stuff "fails to restore the lost R-value" that naturally occurs with fiberglass.

Researchers have found that when you "cap" your loose-fill fiberglass with cellulose, it not only adds R-value, it actually restores the effective R-value that fiberglass loses during cold weather.

Foam insulation is another upgrade possibility that is increasing in popularity. It is also incredibly energy efficient, resulting in up to 50% in savings on home energy bills.

Learn more about making your home more energy efficient at EnergyStar.com.

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