Home Improvements to Seal In Savings

Summertime can be tough on your air-conditioning unit. Make things a bit easier by weatherizing your home.

Doors, windows and wall gaps around plumbing, ducting or electrical wiring are common escape routes for cool air. Sealing those leaks and proper insulation can reduce annual heating and cooling costs by an average of 15%.

"Your air conditioner uses the most energy of any of your appliances," said David Ritchey, manager of Energy Efficiency Engineering at Southern California Edison. "When cooled air leaks out, it wastes all the energy used to cool it in the first place. Your air conditioner then needs to work harder to replace what's lost."

Tips for weatherizing your space:

• Identify spots where air may be escaping.
• Do-it-yourselfers can hold a lit candle next to suspected problem areas to detect a draft or opt for air leak detection tools like a thermal detector or wind meter.
• Call a weatherization specialist to test your space for air tightness.
• Use caulk to seal cracks around stationary items.
• For areas that move, like doors or windows, opt for weather stripping - adding strips of adhering material to close openings where air can enter or exit a space. Common materials used include reinforced foam, felt, rubber or vinyl.
• Install a door sweep to create a tight seal between the bottom of doors and the floor or threshold.

Other air leak culprits to look out for: attic or basement hatches, dryer vents, gas-fired water heaters, baseboards, ducting, tiny gaps around outlet plates and walls and areas where different building materials meet.

SCE offers residential customers free air duct sealing tests, smart thermostats and upgraded A/C motors through its Residential Direct Install Program. It's open to single-family homes and multi-family dwellings with central air conditioning. There are no income qualifications, applicants only need an active SCE service account.

For more home weatherization assistance, income-qualified customers can go through the California Department of Community Services and Development to request an energy audit. They offer services such as sealing air leaks around doors, windows and pipes, checking the home's insulation and repairing or replacing windows and water heaters.

Learn more about making your home energy efficient.