Summer is steadily approaching, and I'm sure we are all ready for some warm weather after the polar vortex winter we just had. But sooner than you think, you'll wish your home was cold again as you combat the sticky, muggy summer air.

One solution is to turn up your air conditioning, which will help take some of the humidity out of your home and make it more comfortable. But this can also cost a fortune, and may not even do the trick of keeping you comfortable.

The best solution - seal those top plates and penetrations in your attic! They let air escape year round, and actually force that hot air from your attic into your home during the summer. All of the unsealed top plates and penetrations in your attic is equivalent to leaving a window open in the summer. So - what are top plates and penetrations? Look below!!

Top plates are shown left and penetrations are shown on the right. Top plates run around the entire attic. The are areas where multiple different building materials come together and consequently have gaps between the materials since they are not sealed together. Most interior walls of the home will have top plates above them that need to be sealed with foam.

Penetrations, shown to the right, come mainly in the form of plumbing and electrical penetrations. They are holes that connect right to your nice air conditioned parts of the home, and should also be sealed with foam.

From the infrared perspective, you can see below how the air leaks from the attic through the top plates into the home.

As you can see, blue spots run along the top areas of the walls where they meet the ceilng. Above those spaces in the attic are top plates and penetrations that need to be sealed.

Stay cool this summer, and keep efficient. Air sealing & Insulation will help you year round.