Building for airtightness entails a variety of materials and techniques but is basically very simple. In general, all joints, seams and penetrations should be sealed with either caulk, gaskets or polyethylene film. The area around floors is the single most important area to seal for air leakage control. Both methods have been tested and proven effective. Fresh Air Ventilation For Indoor Air Quality Control Energy efficiency goes hand in hand with indoor comfort and health and a key component for providing all three is a mechanical ventilation system that exhausts stale air and brings in fresh outdoor air in a controlled fashion.
Some builders take the concept a step further by installing a fully ducted system.
In a ducted system, a central ventilator exhausts stale air from bathrooms and kitchen while distributing fresh air to each part of the house. Typical installed costs for these systems are listed in Table 2. Nonetheless, energy-efficient homes should have appliances with reasonably efficient heating and cooling equipment. Perhaps the most important appliance to check for efficiency is the water heater. This includes gas and oil-fired furnaces, boilers and water heaters as well as kerosene space heaters.