Recommended Levels of Insulation (excerpt I)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1Improving your home’s insulation and sealing air leaks are the fastest and most cost-effective ways to reduce energy waste and make the most of your energy dollars. Be sure to seal air leaks before you insulate, because insulating materials won’t block leaks.
Sealing Air Leaks
2Air leaks can waste a lot of your energy dollars. One of the quickest energy- and money-saving tasks you can do is caulk, seal, and weather strip all seams, cracks, and openings to the outside.
Tips for Sealing Air Leaks
3Test your home for air tightness. On a windy day, carefully hold a lit incense stick or a smoke pen next to your windows, doors, electrical boxes, plumbing fixtures, electrical outlets, ceiling fixtures, attic hatches, and other places where air may leak. If the smoke stream travels horizontally, you have located an air leak that may need caulking, sealing, or weatherstripping.
-Caulk and weatherstrip doors and windows that leak air.
-Caulk and seal air leaks where plumbing, ducting, or electrical wiring comes through walls, floors, ceilings, and soffits over cabinets.
-Install foam gaskets behind outlet and switch plates on walls.
-Inspect dirty spots in your insulation for air leaks and mold. Seal leaks with low-expansion spray foam made for this purpose and install house flashing if needed.
-Look for dirty spots on your ceiling paint and carpet, which may indicate air leaks at interior wall/ceiling joints and wall/floor joists, and caulk them.
-Cover single-pane windows with storm windows or replace them with more efficient double-pane low- emissivity windows. See the Windows section for more information.
-Use foam sealant on larger gaps around windows, baseboards, and other places where air may leak out.
-Cover your kitchen exhaust fan to stop air leaks when not in use.
-Check your dryer vent to be sure it is not blocked. This will save energy and may prevent a fire.
-Replace door bottoms and thresholds with ones that have pliable sealing gaskets.
-Keep the fireplace flue damper tightly closed when not in use.
-Seal air leaks around fireplace
chimneys, furnaces, and gas-fired water heater vents with fire-resistant materials such as sheet metal or sheetrock and furnace cement caulk.
Question
Which sentence should appear in an objective summary of this text?
Responses
A Homeowners should understand that windows may have one or two panes in them.Homeowners should understand that windows may have one or two panes in them.
B Homeowners should also check for air leaks near windows, furnaces, and appliances.Homeowners should also check for air leaks near windows, furnaces, and appliances.
C This text is not very interesting for readers who may not own or fix their own homes.This text is not very interesting for readers who may not own or fix their own homes.
D This text does not explain how to conserve water, electricity, or gasoline in a household.This text does not explain how to conserve water, electricity, or gasoline in a household.