TL;DR
Air sealing is the systematic closing of the gaps, cracks, and penetrations through which conditioned air escapes a house, using caulk, canned foam, gaskets, and rigid blocking at locations like top plates, rim joists, plumbing chases, and recessed lights. Energy auditors rank it ahead of added insulation for payback because leakage can account for a quarter or more of heating and cooling loss.
What it means
Air sealing is the systematic closing of the gaps, cracks, and penetrations through which conditioned air escapes a house, using caulk, canned foam, gaskets, and rigid blocking at locations like top plates, rim joists, plumbing chases, and recessed lights. Energy auditors rank it ahead of added insulation for payback because leakage can account for a quarter or more of heating and cooling loss. Results are verified with a blower door, often showing 15 to 30 percent leakage reduction in older homes. Crews work from the attic and basement first, where stack-effect pressures make leaks matter most.
Where it sits in the glossary
Air sealing is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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