Attic insulation is often forgotten about. Many families don’t venture into their attic often, and insulation is often given less than a second thought. However, attic insulation is important for your home and should be checked often, replaced, or updated as needed. Learn three reasons why you should consider upgrading your attic insulation and what role insulation plays in a home.
If you are a DIY person, it might be best to reach out to professionals from Building Insulation Solutions. These professionals will guide you on everything to do with attic solutions.
But before consulting the professionals, learn three reasons you should consider upgrading your attic insulation and what role insulation plays in a home.
Prevents Air Leaks in Your Home
One of the primary functions of insulation is to prevent air leaks. Air leaks can lead to higher levels of energy needed to cool or heat your home. Since insulation tends to degrade over time, you may be using more energy to regulate the temperature than you would with newer insulation installed.
In addition, poor insulation may mean that your HVAC unit will run more than normal to keep the temperature in your home at an even level. If you’ve noticed that your utility bill seems unusually high, you may want to have a professional inspect your attic insulation. Air leaks aren’t noticeable most of the time, so you can’t replace one area of your insulation and expect to solve the issue.
After a professional inspect your attic insulation, they might have to air seal all the problem areas in your attic. You might witness different air sealing techniques applied to various places based on the severity to prevent future air leaks.
After the air leaks are corrected, you might realize that your heating and cooling systems perform more efficiently. And with improved efficiency, you might notice lower electricity bills throughout your home.
Regulates Temperatures in Your Home
With poor insulation, your HVAC system will use more energy to heat or cool your home, making temperature regulation difficult. Since hot air rises, heat can escape through the ceiling if your attic insulation is in poor quality, which may leave your house chillier than you want. Even if you have a top-of-the-line HVAC system, the system itself won’t be able to reach full efficiency at heating your home with poor quality attic insulation.
When considering new insulation, you’ll want to look at the R-value, which references the insulation’s resistance to heat flow. The higher the rating is, the better the insulation will retain heat. Multiple types of insulation exist, and a professional services contractor will be able to tell you which will work best for your home. You’ll find insulation available in both loose fill and batts.
Saves On Your Energy Budget
Both high utility bills and a constantly running HVAC system can impact your budget. But to understand how proper insulation helps save on the energy budget, you must understand how an HVAC system works.
It’s important to note that heat flows from warmer to colder areas until there is a constant temperature. For instance, you might notice that in the winter, heat flows from heated spaces to unheated spaces. This heat flow can also be witnessed in the summer when cool air flows to hot areas.
As a result, the movement of hot or cold air can cause utility bills to spike. So, to avoid losing unnecessary cold or warm air, you need to insulate your home well. By concentrating on attic insulation, you’ll be providing an effective resistance to the way heat flows.
Eventually, you’ll save on energy bills by not heating or cooling the attic that isn’t in use. New insulation can help you keep costs down over time and prevent overworking your HVAC system. An overworked system may lead to more frequent repairs and maintenance issues that will cost extra, decreasing efficiency and increasing utility bills. If your HVAC system works extra hard to keep your house cool or warm, you’ll see overwork on your next bill that’s guaranteed to throw you off your budget.
Having an insulation professional inspect your attic insulation may seem like an extra cost, but this professional can best advise you on your insulation’s quality. Newer insulation can save more money and better the heating and cooling efficiency of your home’s HVAC system.
Checking the quality of your attic insulation and updating it when needed can help you save money over time but also help keep your home as comfortable as possible. A professional insulation installation can keep your attic well-insulated for many years.