Improving your home’s insulation has many advantages beyond regulating the temperature inside. Insulation is an often-overlooked part of home renovation projects, but it’s really important for keeping a home pleasant, energy efficient and healthy.
1. Smaller Carbon Footprint
Improving your home’s insulation can help reduce your carbon footprint by lowering your heating and cooling energy consumption. And since homes account for a significant portion of the world’s energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, improving your house’s insulation can have a major impact on the fight against climate change by reducing your carbon footprint.
2. Less Wear and Tear on Heating and Cooling Systems
Insulation helps keep the inside at a constant temperature, which in turn reduces the workload on the HVAC system. Because it doesn’t have to work as hard, your HVAC system will last longer and be more efficient. As a result, you can enjoy a more comfortable and cost-effective home environment, while also extending the life of your heating and cooling equipment and reducing maintenance costs.
3. Better Indoor Air Quality
The goal of today’s insulating materials is to provide a watertight and pollutant-proof barrier against the elements; this helps control indoor humidity and temperature, which in turn keeps mold and mildew at bay. People who suffer from allergies or respiratory problems will find this extremely crucial.
4. Lower Heating and Cooling Bills
Homes with good insulation save a ton of money on heating and cooling bills because they use less energy to keep the interior at a suitable temperature. Homeowners can reduce their yearly energy costs by as much as 20% by insulating their attic and fixing air leaks, according to the US Department of Energy. You can expect a significant return on investment from the energy savings, which can reach several thousand dollars over time.
5. Higher Home Value
When you upgrade your insulation, you’re making a crucial improvement that will increase your home’s resale value. It’s an attractive feature that shows potential buyers how seriously you take the upkeep and improvement of your property. The appreciation will go toward your home’s equity, which could open doors to further investments or renovations down the road—regardless of whether you intend to sell or not.
6. Noise Reduction
Improving insulation has several hidden advantages, one of which is a decrease in noise transmission. For those who reside in densely populated areas or close to highways, this is an especially welcome improvement. An additional benefit of better insulation is the reduction of noise transmission between rooms, which in turn improves privacy and makes for a more peaceful home environment.
7. Moisture Control
Improved insulation aids in the prevention of condensation and moisture buildup by acting as a barrier against outdoor humidity and controlling the temperature within. If you live in a humid climate or have a basement or attic full of problems with moisture, this is something you should definitely take note of. Mold and mildew can cause major health problems; therefore, it’s important to keep moisture out of your home to preserve the structure from water damage.
8. Enhanced Fire Safety
Even though there is no such thing as fireproof insulation, you can increase the safety of your house and family by switching to materials that are more resistant to fire. To prevent a fire from spreading through your home’s walls, you can insulate with mineral wool or fiberglass, two materials that are naturally fireproof.
9. Better Temperature Regulation in Attics and Basements
Basements and attics typically have the worst insulation, which causes a lot of heat to escape and makes the house uncomfortable. Improving the insulation in these areas can have a significant impact on how well your home regulates temperature. Having a well-insulated attic is crucial for keeping warm air in during the winter and cool air outside during the summer. Similarly, if you insulate your basement, the temperature on the first floor will be more stable.
10. Protection Against Pests
When you upgrade your insulation, one step is to plug any holes or crevices that pests could use to get in. Many modern insulation materials contain pesticides or other chemicals, making it harder for rats and insects to build a nest or colony inside your walls.
11. Reduced Ice Dams
Ice dams are a major issue in colder climates because they damage gutters and roofs. The ice dams happen when snow on the roof melts due to heat escaping through an uninsulated attic and then refreezes at the eaves. Insulating your attic will keep the water from escaping during the freeze-thaw cycle. Not only does this keep water out of your home, but it also shields your roof and gutters from harm.
12. Support for Renewable Energy Systems
Homeowners often employ wind turbines and solar panels as sustainable energy sources. Improving home insulation is one way to maximize renewable energy production. For some homeowners, it even helps them have more excess power to sell back to the grid. This is because better insulation increases the home’s energy efficiency.
Types of Insulation
There are a number of popular materials to choose from when insulating your home, and they all have their benefits. Fiberglass insulation has become one of the most popular choices due to its low price and high efficiency. Batts and loose-fill versions are available, making them ideal for tight quarters like crawl spaces, attics and walls.
Recycled paper products coated with fire retardants make cellulose insulation another popular choice. Not only does this environmentally friendly choice offer great thermal performance, but it also significantly reduces air loss. Attics and walls are common places to find it blown into cracks and crevices.
The expanding properties of spray foam insulation make it an effective and multipurpose material for insulating attics, basements and other spaces. It is perfect for both new construction and home renovations because it combines excellent insulation with air sealing in a single application.
Unique Places to Add Insulation
Insulation upgrades are of the utmost importance in walls, attics, basements and crawl spaces. However, there are many other unique places in the home to add insulation to achieve better temperature and humidity control. For example, you can add insulation to a garage door to achieve better temperature control in adjoining rooms. Adding insulation to ductwork can prevent air loss, which boosts heating and cooling efficiency. If you live in a multi-story home, you’ll want to consider adding insulation to the ceilings and floors between different levels to reduce heat transfer and noise.
With the right home insulation upgrades, you can even improve the results of a home energy score test. Insulation, windows and HVAC systems are some of the components that go into calculating a home’s energy score, which ranks the efficiency of the house from 1 to 10. By lowering energy consumption and improving performance indicators, proper insulation can enhance your score by reducing energy loss and raising overall efficiency.
Environmental Heating & Air Solutions offers heating, cooling, air quality, plumbing and electrical services in Roseville, CA. Call us now to book an insulation upgrade assessment for your home.
