Cold Air Coming Through Wall Outlets

When that moisture vapor gets into the stud cavity the vapor turns to water ice dependent on the wall cavity temperature and condenses on the first surface that allows it.

Cold air coming through wall outlets.

In older homes those holes weren t sealed. Most people notice this in the winter when cold air blows through a wall outlet on an exterior wall. While it s still just cool weather this is a good time to stock up on supplies before the prices jump and stores run out of them. It s winter and your home is closed up tight to keep out the cold air but you still feel a draft.

Even if a wall or ceiling is sufficiently insulated the insulation may have been cut away to make room for the electrical boxes which means these spots become conduits for cold air to pass through from the outside. Department of energy s doe oak ridge national laboratory. In fact a mere 1 8 in. Cold weather will be here soon and the wind will be blowing cold air through outlets again.

Air infiltration occurs when outside air finds its way inside your house. Because the wires that came to that switch or outlet probably came through holes drilled through the top or bottom of that wall. When you combine that with the. Or in the summer when the hot 100 f air finds its way into your cool inside living space.

Sometimes especially in older homes and on exterior walls light switch boxes and electrical outlets can let in outside air if they are not insulated properly according to the u s. Turn off the central power to your home. The reason for this is simple. If you want to see just how much cold air is entering your house through an electrical outlet hold a paper tissue over one to check.

The small air gaps around electrical boxes on exterior walls and ceilings leak more air than you might imagine. Remove the cover of all the electrical outlets that are on outside walls. Hole in your ceiling. Electrical outlets fitted to an outside wall can allow cold air to leak into your home so you need to stop it.

Where could it be coming from. Keep the cold air from coming in through your electrical outlets. The items you should buy are foam wall plate insulators outlet gaskets and child safety outlet plugs as shown in this image. If the tissue flaps or moves around it is because there is a draft coming through the outlet.

Think of the amount of heat you d lose. Gap around just six ceiling boxes is the equivalent of cutting a 4 in. You can expect higher heating and cooling bills if you have a lot of air infiltrating into your home.