One of the best ways to reduce the energy consumption of your home and lower your heating and cooling costs is to properly insulate your home. Homes that are well-insulated are more comfortable than those that aren’t. Insulation provides resistance to heat flow. The better your insulation is at resisting heat flow, the more energy and money you will save.
The efficiency of insulation is evaluated by it’s R-Value. Typically, state and local building codes require each building to have a minimum amount of insulating material. However, for further comfort in your home, you may want to exceed those minimum requirements. There are a few different ways to tell how much your home needs to be insulated. The easiest way is to visit the Department of Energy’s Zip Code Insulation Program website. This tool will tell you which areas of your home you need to insulate, the recommended R-Values for your location and the cost and rate of return.
Apart from having a well-insulated house, there are a few different components to maintaining a comfortable home. They are:
- Your home needs to be properly sealed. Homes with cracks or openings will allow air to enter and leave, thus wasting energy.
- Your home needs to be properly ventilated. If your home is too well sealed, harmful microorganisms can get trapped inside and reduce your home’s air quality levels. Proper ventilation provides you with a way to recycle fresh air into your home.
- Your home’s moisture levels need to be controlled. The proper control of your home’s moisture levels will increase the efficiency of your insulating and sealing efforts and improve energy efficiency.
Through the proper balance of insulation, sealing, moisture levels and ventilation, you can make your home much more comfortable and healthy.
Before you make any home comfort decisions, be sure to contact our professionals at (503) 266-1249 for more advice. They are well-trained to give you the information and assistance you need to make the right decisions for your home.
