Saving energy is important in more ways than one. However, you could be wasting a significant amount of energy every day and not even know it. Even a minor leak in your building envelope can cause air from the inside to escape, or air from the outside to enter. This causes your HVAC system to run more often than it should, leading to wasted energy and higher costs. You can do inspections on your own, but it’s also well worth the investment to hire a facade engineering company to do a thorough inspection periodically as well.
Building Envelope Failure Leads to Higher Energy Costs
One of the main ways to lower your energy costs is to ensure your HVAC system is running as efficiently as it can. Having a leaky building envelope is one way to guarantee your system is working harder than it needs to. The source of the air infiltration can be virtually anywhere. The challenge is not only plugging up the air leak, but also determining what caused the leak to begin with so the problem can be addressed permanently instead of temporarily.
How to Inspect Your Building Envelope
The most likely areas for air leakage are around doors, windows and other cracks, seams and joints. Examine the integrity of these areas and see if you can identify anything out of the ordinary. In many cases, you can put your hand close to the area and feel if there’s a draft coming from the outside. But in more difficult situations, calling a facade engineering company to conduct an inspection for you can ensure you’ll identify the right issue and fix it to perfection.
Don’t Hesitate to Contact A Professional
When you’re dealing with building envelope failure, one of the best things you can do is hire building envelope consultants to do an inspection. In fact, scheduling these professionals to come out to your building frequently will not only help identify and fix the issues quickly, but also prevent issues from occurring in the first place. The cost of hiring professionals is minimal when you compare it to the potential wasted money on your energy bills as a result of a leaky building.
BE Structural is comprised of a team of building envelope consultants ready to help you do a thorough inspection of your building. Energy costs are rising for various reasons, so having a secure building creates more energy efficiency and cost savings. Be sure to reach out to us to see how our professional inspections can help you save energy, time and money.