How Your Home’s Foundation Impacts Your Heating And Cooling

When someone mentions energy efficiency, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

You might think about your home’s appliances. Energy Star ratings appear on everything you buy, from your refrigerator to your washer and dryer.

Or maybe you think of your heating and cooling system. Having an energy efficient furnace and air conditioners means less money being spent every month on your utility bills.

All of these warrant further investigation. When you’re trying to create an energy efficient home, every step you take matters.

But the truth is a lot of it starts with your foundation. Your home’s structure plays a big part in how much energy you use.

Our modern architects know that your foundation sets the stage for energy efficiency. They use advanced building techniques like thermal envelopes, air sealing, and better insulation to ensure your home has the best energy profile from the beginning.

Head back a decade or two and buildings weren’t built in the same manner. And damaged foundations can cause major problems as well, compromising the structural integrity of your home and impacting how much you pay on your energy bills each month.

A home with a tight building envelope improves the efficiency of your heating and cooling equipment. The opposite is also true: if your home has a lot of cracks and gaps, it will be subject to drafts and heating/cooling loss. Some of the issues include:

Crumbling foundations – gaps and cracks can escalate quickly, allowing more airflow throughout your home.

Sloping floors – this is a common concern in older homes. Sloping floors create gaps between the door jamb and the floor, allowing conditioned air to seep through. It can also cause cracks to form around windows and doors.

Imbalance – when severe foundation problems occur, ducts can eventually separate from one another, which causes balance issues within the HVAC system. These imbalances can lead to a rapid decline in equipment performance and decrease comfort throughout your home.

Every part of your home – from the windows to the ducts, from the foundation to the roof – makes a difference in your home’s energy consumption and how much you spend on heating and cooling your home each month. If you’re interested in learning how you can improve your HVAC system’s performance, we’re here to help.