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.
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.
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. New insulation can help you keep costs down over time and can prevent overworking your HVAC system. An overworked system may lead to more frequent repairs and maintenance issues, decreasing efficiency and increasing your utility bills. If your HVAC system is working extra hard to keep your house cool or warm, you’ll definitely see that overwork on your next bill.
Image via Flickr by chimothy27
Having an insulation professional inspect your attic insulation may seem like adding an extra cost, but this professional can best advise you on your insulation’s quality. Newer insulation can lead to not only more money saved, but also better heating and cooling efficiency of your home’s HVAC system.
Checking the quality of your attic insulation and getting it updated when needed can not only 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.