Optimum home energy efficiency is affected by many factors, including natural forces like the “stack effect.” Not all air is equal.
Cold winter air is dense and heavy. Hot summer air, conversely, is lighter and thinner. A simple result of this difference, known as the stack effect, has direct consequences for temperature control and energy efficiency inside your house.
A Stack For All Seasons
In winter, as warm air produced by the furnace rises inside the house, air pressure in lower floors is reduced, sucking cold outside air into the house through leaks in the structure. The influx of more dense cold air pushes the lighter heated air upwards and out of the structure. This makes it difficult to maintain comfort in winter and raises monthly heating costs.
During summer, cool air from the A/C escaping through structural cracks at lower levels of the structure induces a pressure differential that pulls overheated attic air downward through the openings in the ceiling into living spaces. Your A/C runs longer cycles to compensate.
Minimizing The Effect
You can’t overcome natural principles like the pressure differential between hot and cold air. However, you can reduce certain factors that trigger the stack effect inside a house.
Because movement of air is the driving force behind the stack effect, identify and seal structural cracks and gaps that allow air leakage. Pay attention to leaks at the lower and higher points of the structure, such as the crawl space and the ceiling separating the upper floor from the attic. Check for worn weatherstripping around doors. Use caulking to seal small cracks and gaps in walls and ceiling. Where plumbing pipes and other penetrations enter the house from the crawl space or basement, use expandable spray foam to seal the opening.
Heat transfer is another factor fueling the stack effect. Verify that attic insulation complies with current Department Of Energy recommendations. If necessary, add additional insulation on top of existing layers to meet today’s higher standards.
For further advice about optimizing home energy efficiency, talk to the pros at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 440-201-2959.
Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area