Weatherization

If there’s one thing certain about living in New England, it’s that the weather is never certain. You might be dealing with a snowstorm one week and 75-degree heat the next. The Springfield area sees bitterly cold winters, scorching summers, and everything in between. To make it through the year comfortably, you’ll need to make sure your home is prepared for any sort of weather.

Weatherization is a blanket term for a wide range of improvements that will protect your home’s exterior and interior from the weather. There’s a lot of work that goes into weatherizing a home, but the rewards are well worth the effort.

Sealing Leaks

For the most part, weatherization is concerned with plugging any leaks in your home. Water leaks are the easier sort to spot because there’s obvious evidence in the form of a drip or a puddle. Generally speaking, water leaks are found in the foundation or in the roof.

Air leaks are quite a bit harder to find because, by definition, they’re invisible. However, it’s possible to feel air leaks in the form of drafty rooms in the winter or hot spots in the summer. Air leaks cause more than just physical discomfort: they allow unconditioned air to infiltrate your home, creating extra work for your heating and air conditioning systems. Over time, that means you’ll spend more on energy as well as increased wear on those systems.

Both types of leaks are more common in older homes, but that doesn’t mean new houses are immune. Indeed, construction itself is a source of many air leaks, as builders, electricians, plumbers and less-aware HVAC contractors drill holes and create openings to run wiring, pipe, and ductwork. Over time, many building materials naturally expand and contract, leaving cracks that can cause air or water leaks. Inadequate insulation is also a problem in many homes, leaving them ill-prepared for a winter chill.

Finding and Fixing

SolvIt’s free energy performance evaluation will help you identify the key areas in your home that need to be weatherized. It provides homeowners with a prioritized list of improvements, including a series of estimated up-front costs and long-term savings. We’ll use thorough tests and specialized equipment to find even small leaks, then recommend ways to patch them up for a big decrease in energy usage.

The great thing about weatherization is that it’s largely a “one-and-done” fix. While new air leaks may continue to emerge over time, your home will stay weatherized for the most part once it has been weatherized. That means you’ll be saving energy for a long time, and the sooner you have those improvements made, the bigger the savings.

At SolvIt, we’ve been helping Springfield homeowners be more comfortable for over five decades, and we know the types of houses in our service area inside and out. Give us a call and take that first step toward preparing your home for the seasons ahead.