A couple of years ago, I was at a home where the family was complaining about their air conditioning system.  One of the complaints was that in the heat of the summer, their system couldn’t keep up with the cooling needs during the sweltering August days.  After crawling around their house for a few hours, one of the many problems we discovered was that a lot of cool air was leaking from around the AC unit which was in a storage room in their basement.  In fact, the storage room was a comfortable 75 degrees while the rest of the house struggled to stay below 80.  

The part of the AC unit I am talking about is the interior unit that is normally found in a closet or in your garage.  Mine is located in both —  a storage closet in my garage.  I’m NOT talking about your exterior unit that has the large fan on top.

The solution is fairly simple and here are the steps:

1. Purchase some foam board and metallic duct tape from your local hardware store (not the dull gray kind that we all have sitting around the house).
2. Turn the unit on so that you will be able to feel areas where the cold air is leaking.
3. Use your hand to locate cold spots and air leaks.  The areas around the plenum and where the ductwork attaches are especially suspect for leaks.
4. Use the tape to seal these areas.
5. Cut-to-fit the foam board and put it in place with the metallic tape.  This will insulate your unit to prevent the cool air from escaping and not making it to you rooms.

This is a short project that won’t break the bank, but will provide plenty of savings.  So, take a Saturday morning to complete this task.  It’ll definitely pay off!

Photo credit:  CMKY ONE