Fresh air is good for any home. However, having air come in and go out at the wrong time in the wrong place can waste energy and money. Weatherizing your home can be made simple if you have the proper tools. Before sealing the house up, it’s important to know where these air leaks are coming from. We have a few options to explore: you can spend thousands of dollars on a professional thermal imaging camera, hire an expert to come in and find the leaks, or find them yourself using a Black and Decker Thermal Leak Detector.
The Black & Decker Thermal Leak Detector uses infrared light to find drafts coming from windows, doors, around electrical outlets, along floor molding, and recessed lights. The infrared light should be pointed to a wall to create the reference temperature. Moving the light across surfaces, the temperature given on the Black and Decker Thermal Leak Detector will change by 10, 5, 0r 1 degree Fahrenheit from the reference
temperature. The infrared light will then indicate a cold or hot spot with a blue or red light respectively. For instance, we pointed the Black & Decker Leak Detector on our electrical outlets and noticed that it was a major source of cold air. We removed the outlet plates and inserted electrical outlet insulation. We reran the leak detection test and viola, noticed that leak detector was no longer showing a blue light.
This winter make it a priority to save money, energy, and your home by first finding those air leaks