Draught proofing

Many New Zealand houses have issues with draughts. Draughts are undesirable because they basically let your nice warm air escape out of the house. Draughts can appear in a variety of areas, but most commonly around windows and doors.
Kneel down and have a look under each of your outside doors. These can be covered with a door brush or a door seal (on the inside and outside surfaces respectively).
To locate air leaks around windows, pass a stick of burning incense around your windows on a windy day. Draught stripping your windows is cheap.

 

Benefits

Draught-proofing is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to save energy and money in any type of building, it will help you to:

  • – Keep your home warm and energy efficient
  • – Save money on your fuel bills
  • – Lower your carbon footprint

Busting the myths

If you think the gaps in a house are small and don’t matter, think again! Even small gaps add up and in older NZ homes often equal a 1m² hole in the wall! Don’t under-estimate the power of accumulation.

REMEMBER – INFILTRATION IS NOT VENTILATION!

Sources of draughts

Draughts can be from almost anywhere! Anywhere that indoor air can escape to outside or vice versa. This is worsened by pressure differences between inside and outside. So a windy day is the best time to start looking.

Take a walk around your home and look for the obvious draughts first;

  1. Obvious gaps and cracks,
  2. Listen for rattles or whistling
  3. Feel for moving air or cold spots within a room (using the back of your hand or the smoke of an incense stick)
  4. Look for movement in curtains

See the diagram below for the main culprits for draughts;

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