Heating costs are a significant portion of your monthly household expenses. And let’s be honest, no one wants their hard-earned money flying out the window (or worse, the roof!) It’s important to seal air leaks in your home’s attic to ensure both heats in the wintertime and cool air in the summer months stay in the house. Not only will that help maintain a comfortable temperature in your home, but it will also ultimately save on heating and cooling costs.
NAIMA (North American Insulation Manufacturers Association) reports that 90% of U.S. homes are under-insulated. If you experience different temperatures in different areas of your home, higher than average energy bills, or water leaks in your attic, or if you notice the snow on your roof melts much faster than on your neighbor’s, these can all be signs that your home in under-insulated. Touch the walls or floors in your home; in the winter, they should feel warm and dry. Head outside; the exterior walls of your home should feel cold, as proper insulation will keep the warm air inside.
The U.S. Department of Energy recommends that insulation is checked at least once a year. A reputable insulation company can assess your home’s insulation situation and recommend a strategy for keeping your home comfortable.
And insulation isn’t just important for regulating temperatures inside your home. An equally important function of insulation is to keep environmental toxins out. As insulation ages, its effectiveness can deteriorate, which is why it’s important to assess if your attic is fully and properly insulated on a more regular basis.
Trained professionals can safely and easily remove old insulation if it has become damaged or ineffective and replace it with a variety of different, newer insulation materials – including cellulose, fiberglass, and open cell spray foam. An expert can talk you through the materials and the application, as well as the relative effectiveness of the insulation material, or R-factor.
It’s easy to overlook your attics when considering energy savings or the comfort of your home. But when properly insulated, they are an important factor in maintaining home temperatures all year round – so you can enjoy every season in the utmost comfort!
