a calculator with money and the interior of a modern living room shows with the words air sealing calculator over it

Have you ever wondered what doing some air sealing on your home might actually save you? How does the project cost really look compared to what it’ll save you over time?

I wanted to really show what the savings and return on investment can look like by doing even just a small bit of air sealing. This is why I wanted to not just build a basic calculator, but include not only basic estimates but break them up by State (using real Energy Star numbers), include climate zones, inflation, your actual energy bill, and much more.

Feel free to play with the calculations on the left side, and take note of the interactive graphs and mouseover data you can look at.

What is Air Sealing?

Air sealing is the act of sealing up gaps, cracks, and openings in your home. This allows for keeping the conditioned air (that we pay for) to not escape as fast, or for outdoor air to infiltration as fast.

This directly saves you money on your heating and cooling costs, which is typically the biggest expense on your utility bill.

In my own experience as a BPI-certified energy auditor, along with renovating my own netzero homes, nothing comes close to the return on investment [ROI] of air sealing given the relatively little cost.

How Accurate Is the Calculator?

Check out the video I made to walk through the calculator a little bit more (with examples):

The calculator uses real tested data from Energy Star, along with very close estimates by State and climate zone. Is this 100% accurate? No, that’s impossible.

Every house is different. Each is built a different times, by different people, with different materials, and with different designs. The same exact house design built again by the same builder could return air leakage rates different from the first.

Precaution and Disclaimer

The calculator is an estimate only. As we learn in training to become an energy auditor and in building science as a whole, there is a point where the home can become so airtight that it actually becomes unhealthy. That’s why the phrase “build tight, ventilate right” is used throughout the industry.

Perform air sealing work at your own risk. To get a fully accurate reading of how your home performs, please hire a certified energy auditor. These are usually BPI-certified professionals who will perform a blower door test, combustion test (if gas appliances exist), an infrared camera home inspection, and more.

While the risk of air sealing to save money is low, we want to be safe with our work.

Ready to start air sealing for some savings? We wrote up a pretty extensive guide for air sealing your home here as a start.

If you’re looking to save energy, go netzero, design solar, or anything else, we also offer consultation and virtual energy audits as well! Check out our Services page for more details on that.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *