Keeping a house warm in the winter consumes over half the total energy expenditure in the household and the Department of Energy insulation fact sheet recommends using insulation to ensure that heated air remains in the house, thereby reducing the energy required to keep the house warm during the colder months. Insulation also has the added benefit of retaining cooler air in summer, making it an ideal energy saver all year round. The same fact sheet also discusses a number of home insulation tips that can help keep the house comfortable to live in, regardless of the temperatures outside. One of the tips for energy saving is to insulate your house, as it prevents conditioned air from escaping and unconditioned air from getting in resulting in significant savings.
What to Insulate?
Knowing that insulation is important is the first key step to saving energy, but the location of the insulation is also important. Typical areas that are insulated include the ceiling and roof of a house to prevent heated air from leaking through the roof, and the external walls, to prevent cold air from entering from the outside. The type of insulation used will depend on where it is used; for instance, an attic will work well with loose-fill insulation, while external walls can be insulated with spray foam insulators.
Insulation can also be applied to heating system ductwork to prevent energy loss; this is a typical situation in older houses. Newer houses generally have ducts placed in conditioned spaces to avoid energy loss.
Other Benefits of Insulation
Insulation tends to be associated with keeping a house snug in winter, but a properly insulated house will have a number of other benefits. Air conditioners in the summer will have to work less to keep the house cool as the cooler air doesn’t leak out, which will result in massive savings all year around. Insulation also keeps moisture in the house constant, which can prevent corrosion and water damage to the air-conditioning unit.
If you’d like to discuss any of the above home insulation tips, contact Bodine-Scott Air Conditioning Co.