Vents are key components (obviously!) of the hugely important ventilation systems all houses must have. They include the dryer vent, kitchen and bathroom fans, plumbing stack vents, and all the vents in the attic ventilation system. In addition if you have a fireplace the chimney can be considered a vent.

They also are very important in most energy systems in the house, in part because they are large sources of energy loss as they vent warm, heated air from inside the house to the outside (sometimes as much as 200-300 cubic feet per minute), and in part because warm heated air can escape through the cracks and gaps around the vents where the vents protrude through the “envelope” or exterior of the house, even when the vents are closed or are turned off.

What you can do:

• Seal the spaces around all your vents. You’ll discover the cracks and gaps if you attempt to detect leaks in your home, and you can get information on sealing those leaks here.
• Be sure to turn off kitchen and bathroom fans (vents) as soon as the moisture, grease or odors are removed. If necessary it is possible to purchase switches that have timers that will shut off the fans after certain lengths of time.
  

Savings:

• Sealing the cracks and spaces around the vents contributes to the 10%-20% annual savings in heating costs that weatherizing your home will bring you. With average annual heating costs nearing $1,500 dollars a year (and much more than that if you heat with oil or liquid propane) you could save up to $300/ year or more.
• Turning off kitchen and bathroom fans as soon as they are no longer needed is not going to save you much money unless you normally leave them on for long periods of time. In that case you could save you as much as $30 or $40 annually.

Learn more on our Sealing Air Leaks page.