The 5 Most Common Air Leak Points in Greek Homes

🕳️ The Huge Hole

This box is, literally, a huge hole in the wall that faces the street! In most homes, the only thing separating you from the freezing outdoor air is a thin sheet of plywood.

❄️ The Cold Party

Through the gaps in the box and through the hole where the strap (belt) exits, freezing air throws a party in your living room.

⚡ Conduit Tunnels

The electrician chiselled into the brick to run the plastic conduit pipes that carry the cables. These pipes often end up at the electricity meter, in the basement or on the terrace (outside the house).

🌬️ Aerodynamic Tunnels

Because nobody seals the inside of these pipes, they turn into microscopic aerodynamic tunnels. Cold air travels through the wall and exits right through the small holes of the socket!

🧱 Under the Skirting Board

When the wall is built and the floor is poured, a small joint (gap) almost always remains between them. The plasterers apply render, but usually stop 2-3 cm above the floor, knowing that "the skirting board will hide it". But the skirting is only nailed or glued on - it is not airtight. Air circulating behind the wall exits from the floor, straight at your ankles.

🔧 Plumbing and A/C Holes

When the technician came to install the Air Conditioning, he drilled a huge hole in the wall with a core drill to route the copper pipes to the outdoor unit. After passing the pipes, he usually applied a little filler or plaster very roughly. Over time, the plaster cracks and the filler dries out. Behind the indoor unit, there is now a hole that lets air in 24 hours a day.

🔥 The Fireplace

If you have a traditional, open fireplace without a glass door (energy type) and without a damper (the butterfly that closes the flue), your home has a permanent open hole 20-25 cm in diameter in the ceiling! On evenings when you do not light a fire, all the radiator heat escapes straight into the sky.

🏠 The Extractor

Similarly, the kitchen extractor duct ends at a grille on the outside wall. When the wind blows, air enters through the grille, descends the duct and enters your kitchen. (The solution is gravity dampers / non-return valves.)

❌ Scenario A (The Wrong Diagnosis)

We call the window installer. He tells us we need €4,000 for new windows. Since we don't have that, we do nothing and accept that we'll freeze.

✅ Scenario B (The €200 'Safari')

We grab a candle and trace the draughts. We buy polyurethane foam and silicone.

1. We open the shutter boxes and line them internally with thin, flexible insulation (Neopor-type).
2. We remove the external socket cover plates and apply acrylic silicone behind the switch.
3. We seal the A/C holes with foam.
4. We fit a non-return damper on the extractor.

The Result: The home immediately "tightens up". The sensation of cold draughts disappears completely. We spent very little, but increased the thermal comfort of the home dramatically!

Ventilation, Airtightness & Real Consumption: Climate Control

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