Help there is a hole in my house

Why Small Fixes Alone Rarely Deliver Big Results

At Low Energy Home, we see this pattern repeatedly in Adelaide houses: most of the energy loss comes from a small number of large weaknesses, not from lots of tiny losses.

In typical South Australian homes — particularly older brick construction — the biggest losses are usually through the windows, walls and ceiling and uncontrolled air movement into and out of the house. These pathways dominate both winter heat loss and summer heat gain.

When these major issues are left unaddressed, fixing a small crack or gap will rarely change how the house feels or how much energy it uses (although in winter, if it stops you feeling a cold draft you will appreciate it). The improvement is real, but it is overwhelmed by the larger losses elsewhere. Comfort doesn’t noticeably improve, and energy bills often barely move.

This is why a whole‑house approach matters. Energy efficiency works best when the largest problems are tackled first — tightening the building envelope, improving insulation, and controlling air movement. Once these are under control, smaller fixes start to make sense and begin to add up.

In short, it’s not that small fixes don’t work — it’s that they work best in the right order. 

To find the right order, get an energy audit