More Sealing

My house has a gas furnace and a gas hot water tank.  Each of them occupies its very own closet in the hallway.  The thing about gas appliances is they need to breathe--they need a steady supply of oxygen to feed the flame.  Without a vent of some kind, the flame will either starve or--worse--it will "flash" out toward any oxygen source it can find--such as the oxygen coming in through the cracks around the closet door!

To mitigate this, a vent tube leading to the attic is installed to provide a steady supply to the appliance.  However, for our purposes, this becomes a liability in the pursuit of running our HVAC systems efficiently because that vital attic-air in the closet will exchange with the air inside the rest of the house.  Best if we can keep that attic-air tightly quarantined in the closet so our HVAC system won't have to work to treat that untreated air (not to mention the potential for particulate to wander down from the attic).

The good news is that we can seal the closets very easily and inexpensively.  I used a combination of two products--the "Draft Dodger" (often As Seen on TV) and foam tape--the same kind often used to weather-strip an exterior door.

"Draft Dodger" seals the gap at the bottom of the door.

Foam tape seals the door shut.

--

Happy Greening!

Andy

Insulative Gaskets for Switches and Outlets

This easy and inexpensive task in the "sealing" category addresses the draft from your outlet and switch boxes.  When you remove the cover plate from your switches and outlets, you may find a significant gap between the [metal or plastic] electrical box and the drywall. These gaps--and holes in the electrical box--permit air passage from the interior of the wall and attic.  This deficiency can be addressed with a simple adhesive-backed foam gasket that adheres to the wall and seals the gaps.

For my purposes, this task is part of a larger effort to eliminate leaks so my heating and cooling systems can perform their jobs with less effort.  I purchased Air-Tite brand "decora" sealers from amazon.com.  "Decora" refers to the large rectangular paddle-style switches and outlets--the same coverplate fits a GFCI outlet.  There is a wide variety of these products that will fit your outlets and switches.

Installation is simple and requires only a flat-head screwdriver and the adhesive gaskets.  If you have any doubt about your ability to safely navigate behind the cover plate, turn off the circuit breaker before starting.

The Stick 'N' Seals arrived in an unassuming cardboard box with no plastic -- Kudos to Air-Tite for avoiding unnecessary plastic packaging!

Step 1. Remove the cover plate (revealing the electrical box and wide gaps into the wall space.

Step 2.  Peel and stick the Airtite Stick 'N' Seal.

Step 3.  Replace the cover plate.

---