On Dec 28, 6:28*pm, "SBH" wrote:
.....for the home. Is it worth it?

I repaired a loose connection in an outlet on an exterior wall. Upon doing so, I noticed a draft of cold air from under the outlet. Therefore, I temporarily plugged it. Directly under the that area in the basement above my drop ceiling panels, also on the exterior wall, is another draft which appears to be coming from the side door area. Two summers past, I used expand foam and caulk along the entire side of the house and filled in some questionable areas around the door with cement (threshold area), hoping I might conquer this draft. Nope, nothing doing and it's aggravating. Therefore, the infrared red scanning idea comes to mind. I need to find this leak, along with other reasons why part of my house is colder than the rest.

Inputs?

Thanks

I had a blower door test done, my hvac co did it free as part of my
new install. Blower door tests are cheaper to hire out and show air
infiltration as the tech goes around with a Smoke Stick, and pinpoints
leaks for you. I found areas I never imagined and sealed them. A IR
Thermal photo will only show areas with poor insulation, not air
comming in. Best would be to hire a pro to do an energy audit and both
tests. Buy you could do an air infiltration test yourself with a
strong fan sealed in a window or door, and a smoke stick you get at
hvac supply stores, or something like a Punk thats used to light
fireworks. A pro doing the blower door test will give you a printout
of what your homes air exchanges per day are, what they should be and
how to improve your problem. Its worth the 3-500 a test should cost.

leaks for you. I found areas I never imagined and sealed them. A IR
Thermal photo will only show areas with poor insulation, not air
comming in. Best would be to hire a pro to do an energy audit and both

IR photo could indirectly show air coming in if there is a temperature
difference between outside air and indoor air. When cold air rushes in
through gaps, it cools the area around the gap, which shows up as streaks in
the IR scan. You can combine blower door, IR, and smoke all in one test.

BTW, a cold draft does not necessarily have to come through a gap. If you
have a spot with weak insulation, the air becomes cold there, and creates a
convection which you may feel as a draft. This is what I feel whenever I am
near a window.

On Wed, 29 Dec 2010 05:33:37 -0800 (PST), ransley
wrote:

On Dec 28, 6:28Â*pm, "SBH" wrote:
.....for the home. Is it worth it?

I repaired a loose connection in an outlet on an exterior wall. Upon doing so, I noticed a draft of cold air from under the outlet. Therefore, I temporarily plugged it. Directly under the that area in the basement above my drop ceiling panels, also on the exterior wall, is another draft which appears to be coming from the side
door area. Two summers past, I used expand foam and caulk along the entire side of the house and filled in some questionable areas around the door with cement (threshold area), hoping I might conquer this draft. Nope, nothing doing and it's aggravating. Therefore, the infrared red scanning idea comes to mind. I need to find this
leak, along with other reasons why part of my house is colder than the rest.

Inputs?

Thanks

I had a blower door test done, my hvac co did it free as part of my
new install. Blower door tests are cheaper to hire out and show air
infiltration as the tech goes around with a Smoke Stick, and pinpoints
leaks for you. I found areas I never imagined and sealed them. A IR
Thermal photo will only show areas with poor insulation, not air
comming in. Best would be to hire a pro to do an energy audit and both
tests. Buy you could do an air infiltration test yourself with a
strong fan sealed in a window or door, and a smoke stick you get at
hvac supply stores, or something like a Punk thats used to light
fireworks. A pro doing the blower door test will give you a printout
of what your homes air exchanges per day are, what they should be and
how to improve your problem. Its worth the 3-500 a test should cost.
The jackasses that are getting paid to do the leak testing here in
ontario for the government rebate didn't do any smoke testing - mabee
the ouse was tight enough they figured nothing would show up, I don't
know. For $350 0r $375 all we got was the blower door test and initial
results. Now we need to pay for the second blower door test after
replacing that door (which won't show up any different on the test)
and 2 windows.