Proper insulation of your home provides both comfort and significant savings in energy costs. For maximum energy efficiency in your home, boost your insulation in these four critical areas.
Attic
An improperly insulated attic can suck heat from your living spaces in winter, and radiate it downward in the summer, putting an extra load on your heating and cooling system.
Insulating an attic access is often overlooked. The gap created around the attic stairs, hatch or kneewall allows heat loss during cold months, and heat gain during the summer. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a quarter-inch gap around an attic access may leak as much air as is supplied by a bedroom heating duct. A good rule of thumb is to make sure your attic floor insulation is higher than the floor joists.
Air ducts
Air ducts deliver conditioned air from your heating and cooling system to the rest of the house, and then return an equal amount of air. Air ducts located in unconditioned areas should be insulated. These areas might be an unfinished basement, attic, crawl space or garage.
Uninsulated ducts in unconditioned areas can lose up to 30 percent of their heating or cooling energy through conduction. When this occurs, homeowners may experience a “cold blow” during winter, especially if the heat is supplied by long duct runs.
Many homes’ duct systems suffer from leaks, wasting substantial energy. Seal leaky ducts with mastic sealant or metal tape (but not duct tape).
Wall insulation
Boost your insulation on the exterior house walls and you’ll experience significant savings on cooling and heating costs, plus have a more comfortable and constant internal house climate. You may need an experience technician to handle this project.
Foundation insulation
Insulating the house foundation provides numerous benefits beyond reducing radiating cold from below. It also helps stop radon from penetrating into the house, insect infestation, and is important in preventing moisture issues.
For more information on how to boost your insulation for better energy efficiency, contact Ernest Heating & Cooling. We bring 35 years of industry experience to the Metro-East area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Hamel, Illinois and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about insulation and other HVAC topics, visit our blog.
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