Yes — and it's often the highest-ROI upgrade
Air sealing is one of the most cost-effective energy efficiency upgrades you can make in an Ottawa home. Insulation resists heat flow, but it doesn't stop air movement — if cold air is leaking in through gaps, your insulation can't do its job. The average older Ottawa home has air leaks that add up to the equivalent of a basketball-sized hole in the wall.
Sealing those leaks stops drafts, reduces heating and cooling costs, prevents moisture problems, and — critically — makes any insulation you have (or add) perform the way it should. Air sealing is the right first step before adding insulation.
How air leaks waste energy
Stack effect: In winter, warm air rises and escapes through leaks in your attic, which pulls cold outside air in through leaks in your basement and crawlspace. This continuous cycle replaces your heated air with cold air that has to be reheated — driving up bills. The bigger the leaks at the top and bottom of your home, the stronger the stack effect.
Direct drafts: Gaps around windows, doors, electrical outlets, and plumbing penetrations let outside air straight in, creating cold spots and forcing your heating system to work harder. Sealing these gaps eliminates the drafts and the energy waste.
How much it saves
Most Ottawa air sealing projects range from $1,500 to $4,000 and deliver some of the fastest payback of any efficiency upgrade. Customers often see 15–30% reductions in heating and cooling costs, especially in older, leaky homes. The exact savings depend on how leaky your home was to start — a blower door test measures it precisely.
Beyond the bills, air sealing improves comfort (no drafts, even temperatures), prevents moisture and condensation problems, and improves indoor air quality by reducing the infiltration of dust, pollen, and humidity.
Why air sealing comes before insulation
If you air-seal after insulating, you've already paid for insulation that's underperforming. If you seal first, any insulation you add performs at its rated R-value instead of being bypassed by air leaks. This is why energy auditors and building scientists always recommend air sealing as the first step. We use a blower door test to measure your home's leakage before and after sealing, so you see the improvement in numbers.
How it's measured: the blower door test
A blower door is a sealed fan mounted in an exterior door frame. It depressurizes your home to measure how much air leaks in and to pinpoint where the leaks are. We test before sealing (to find the leaks), seal them, then test again to measure the improvement. This takes the guesswork out — you see exactly how much tighter your home became.