Plugging Up the Leaks in Your Home
I don't care where you live, North or South. Getting rid of the leaks in your home will save you money on either your heating or your cooling bill. Or both.
 Older homes have a penchant for leaking like a sieve, but not-so-old homes may benefit from some of these measures as well.
Caulk cracks and gaps less than one-quarter inch wide. Look for gaps around electrical outlets and switches on exterior walls; where pipes go through insulated floors and ceilings; around window, door and baseboard moldings; and where wires go through insulated floors, ceilings and walls. You'll want caulk that is made for the material it is sealing and that stays flexible for 20-years. You really don't want to make this a yearly project.
Fill larger cracks and holes that are not exposed to moisture or sunlight with expanding foam sealant.
For large cracks, or as a base for deep cracks you plan to caulk, use backer rod or crack filler, which is sold in long coils.
Rigid foam insulation seals very large openings. Check your attic hatch covers and plumbing chases (which is a fancy way of saying the channel around your drainpipes).
You may be heating your attic. Unless you want to keep the broken furniture, leisure suits, and magazines from the '80s that you've dumped up there nice and toasty, think about sealing off the tops of interior partition walls where they meet the attic from the attic. While you're there check if you have a full foot of fiberglass or cellulose insulation in the attic floor.
You don't need an audit to find one giant hole in your house--your chimney. Close the fireplace damper when you don't have a fire.
Where the chimney or flue pipe goes through insulated ceilings and exterior walls you may need metal flashing and high-temperature silicone sealants. You may want to check with your building inspector or fire marshal about these.
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