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Tests to Locate Air Leaks

Windows and doors should be energy audited either in terms of air leaks but also in terms of efficiency and eventual replacement.

Inspecting windows and doors for air leaks

Check possible air movement around the frame structures of windows and doors; they correspond to possible air leaks...

Check possible «daylight» around windows and door frames. If it exists, then there is air leaks that should be sealed.

Inspect also possible storm windows. Make sure they fit and aren’t broken.

Simple tests to locate leaks around windows and doors

If the inspections suggested above aren’t satisfactory enough, and you aren’t sure about leaks connected to windows, doors and skylights, and their location, you may conduct a basic pressurization test to identify those leaks.

Just proceed as following, by that order:

- Close all exterior doors and windows.
- Close the fireplace - or stove or other appliance - flue.
- Turn off combustion appliances (gas or fuel boilers, furnaces, heaters, and so on).
- If you have exhaust fans in your kitchen, bathrooms or elsewhere, turn them on to suck the air out of the rooms.
- If you haven’t exhaust fans you may use a large window fan (to suck the air).

Those pressurization steps will increase infiltration through leaks and craks, making it easier to detect them. If necessary, use small candles or incense sticks to locate the leaks. The moving air associated with the possible leaks will cause the smoke to move and to waver. You may also dip your hand in water and use it to locate air leaks. You will feel the cool in your wet hand.

For a more profound and professional test, see: Blower door tests

Replacing Old windows and Doors

If your windows, doors and skylights are old, replacing them with new qualified ones will very probably save you a lot of energy and money in the long run. Old conventional fenestration can account for over 25% of the energy bills in a typical house.

Modern qualified windows and glazed doors and skylights overcome energy losses through adequate U-factors and SHGC coefficients (U-factor is a measure of non-solar heat flow, while SHGC is a measure of solar radiation)...

See, for more information:
Window, doors and skylights basics

If you can’t support replacing your old windows and doors, fix eventual problems – namely air leaks – associated with them.