On Mon, 25 Jun 2012 06:38:02 -0400, Jim Wilkins wrote:

"Winston" wrote in message
...
...
That'll be about the time I do an energy audit. It'll be interesting to
locate all the air leaks.

HooBoy.

--Winston

You can find the more serious ones by letting a helium balloon ballasted
to neutral buoyancy float around the house. On a cold day the air flow
will pull it to where air leaks out. It may find conduction leaks by
floating to them across the ceiling and then dropping down in the colder
air, which shrinks it.

Or if your house is like one apartment I lived in, see if the curtains
move on windy days. That place was 45F in the winter, 105F in summer.
Big and cheap, though. That's where I learned how to fix refrigerators.

Mylar balloons work much better because they don't leak down as quickly.
Rubber balloons need some dampened paper ballast that evaporates to
somewhat counteract the leakage.

jsw

'Sounds fun and educational!

Thanks!

--Winston