Is Your Heat Escaping Into the Attic?

As a homeowner, you try to be conscious of your utility bills and energy usage. During especially cold or hot months, you want to make sure that the heated or cooled air you are paying for is staying in your home, and, specifically, in your living areas. How can you quickly determine if you are losing precious air? It’s as easy as going into your attic. Use the steps outlined below to do your own quick DIY energy audit! This is a great jumping off point for a conversation about the energy efficiency of your home.

1. Turn on the ceiling lights for each room in your house that has recessed ceiling lights.
2. Go up into the attic of your house and look down at the recessed light fixtures.
3. Carefully part the insulation that is around these fixtures.
4. Turn off the attic light and your flashlight. In the darkness you’ll be surprised at how much light you’ll see from the rooms below.
5. If you can see this light, then you KNOW that warm household air (that you already paid to heat up) is rushing up out of the house through these air gaps.
6. If you don’t see any light from the room below, check for darker gray dust stains in the attic insulation at the recessed light fixture. That’s household dust from inside the rooms… another dead giveaway that heat is escaping from your house.

Seeing either light from below or dust stains means it’s time to talk about energy efficiency weatherization projects… as well as indoor air quality.