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If your electricity bill is far too high, drafts could be to blame. Drafts are caused by any gap in your home that allows cold air from outside to enter during the winter, or hot air from outside to enter during the summer. Either scenario forces your heater or air conditioning unit to work harder than it should have to, leading to the possibility of costly malfunctions and maintenance in addition to your bloated power bill. This is obviously a situation you should try to avoid. You will need to know how to find air leaks in your house.
Locating Drafts In Your Home
The best way to handle this problem is to locate and eliminate any drafts in the spring and fall seasons before you start relying heavily on your climate control systems. This is especially true if you have an older home, as they are significantly more prone to drafting than their more modern counterparts.
Older buildings were not constructed with the same insulation practices used today. Therefore, they fall far short by comparison. Consequently, drafts are far more likely to develop.
Challenges Of Air Leaks In Older Homes
Windows are the most likely source of any draft in any home, but this is especially true of older dwellings. Older windows lack modern insulation technology, making them notorious for allowing unwanted air to get in. The seal can also wear off over time, requiring replacement if you do not want to deal with a troublesome draft for the entire season.
If your home is improperly insulated, windows are a good place to start searching for the problem.
How To Find An Air Draft In Your Home
If windows are not to blame, your draft could be difficult to find. They like to hide in places you might not think of, such as floorboards, inlets, and around doors. The root cause may also not be where you feel the strongest draft. Despite the challenge, the best way to find a draft is to use your senses.
One popular method is to have a two-person team hunt for drafts. The first person should stand outside the home, shining a flashlight on any area where a draft is suspected. The second should be inside, reporting whether or not they can see the light. If the light is visible, air can use the same entrance to get into your house and cause problems. You have discovered the location of at least one draft!
When To Hire The Pros
Alternatively, you may want to hire a professional to find your drafts. Pros can think of areas to check that the average person would never think of. We also have equipment that is better at locating drafts than your average flashlight. Better yet, if we find something we can actually do something about it.
You could attempt to fix a draft yourself, but if the attempt goes awry you have no recourse to repair the resulting damage. Our work is backed by a full factory guarantee, so we will keep working until you are satisfied with the result at no additional charge.
While important, it is possible that drafts are not the only reason you are paying too much for electricity. If your heater or air conditioning unit is old or malfunctioning, it may be operating at well below peak efficiency. You will not be as comfortable in your own home as you should be if this is the case. You would be paying more for less actual heat or air conditioning.
The best way to solve this problem is to bring in an HVAC expert to perform a tune-up on your machine. You will learn about any problems your system has and receive an estimate of what it will cost to fix them. We provide tune-up services as well, so contact us if you want to pay less to be more comfortable this winter or summer.
Conclusion
In conclusion, drafts can ruin the efficiency of even the best air conditioning and heating units. Many energy consumers do not realize how much money drafts are costing them until they get rid of them and see a noticeable decrease in the monthly energy bill. A system tune-up may also help you save money by getting the most out of your unit. Contact Wilcox Energy today for a full diagnostic if you want to experience such savings for yourself. You will be glad you did.
Call Wilcox Energy For All Of Your Home Comfort Requirments
Southern Connecticut residents can always count on Wilcox Energy for reliable heating and cooling services. Our team is comprised of friendly and highly trustworthy technicians who are all professionally certified. They possess all of the knowledge and skills for offering expert HVAC system service every time. Likewise, we can find the areas of energy loss in your home and provide you with practical solutions to resolve them.
Wilcox Energy offers the most competitive prices on heating and cooling installations, repairs, replacements, and more throughout the area. You can get increased peace of mind, better value, higher levels of efficiency with our maintenance services. If your HVAC system should need a replacement or repair, we’ll help you find the ideal equipment for your budget and your home. All of our work comes backed by a full satisfaction guarantee. Call Wilcox Energy right now to schedule an appointment for service. Our informative, in-home estimates are totally free.
For more information about our HVAC services, be sure to contact Wilcox Energy. You can click here to contact us, or you can call us at (860) 399-6218 to find out more. We offer a full line of heating and cooling repairs, maintenance services, and installations.