Home Energy Facts

• Buildings use 72% of all our electricity, over 40% of all energy and emit 38% of our carbon emissions.
• Air leakage accounts for 5% to 40% of the costs to heat and cool buildings. 
• A one-inch square hole will let in 30 quarts of water vapor over the course of a season.  Moisture rots wood and makes mold and dust mites thrive. 
• Leaks can bring in airborne pollutants, including pollen, mold and auto exhaust. In the warm months, leaks bring in air filled with moisture.  The cooling system has to run longer to take out this moisture, wasting energy and money.
• Plumbing penetrations typically have large open, leaky areas
• Wind washing (air leaking into and through insulation) can reduce effectiveness of insulation by 15% to 50%.
• Research in Florida showed that sealing ducts in existing homes reduced cooling costs by about 33%.
• Leaky ducts waste energy (and money!) by leaking conditioned air to unconditioned space.  In addition, leaky ducts significantly increase other air leaks by creating unbalanced pressures in the house.
• Duct and air leaks can cause air and dangerous pollutants from the crawl space, garage and attic to be pulled into the living area.
• A 990 square foot attic insulated with R-30 insulation but with ten square feet of uninsulated attic access brings the effective R-value of the attic insulation to R-23.

Certified energy raters from Brightcut Building Solutions can test your home using scientific measuring equipment, show you where your home has leaks and problem areas, and then give prioritized, cost-effective recommendations to address the issues.