Tips for Home Energy Savings
You’ve had your home for about ten years now, and it’s in pretty good shape. You haven’t had to invest in any expensive fixes, but it’s about time to make some improvements. Taking on the task of a home addition seems too risky right now, but you’re open to learning about other ways to improve your home. There has to be some other ways to do some really beneficial work to improve your home’s value and even your enjoyment of your home.
Well, there are plenty of ways to better your home’s value without causing damage to your pockets, or taking away too much of your free-time and energy.
Have you heard of a home energy audit? This is when an energy professional visits your home and tests your home’s energy efficiency. Some of these auditors actually propose some ways to fix any identified problems. These professionals can also come back and do the projects themselves!
So, what kind of things would an energy audit uncover about your home? Let’s focus on insulation.
Insulation
Everyone knows when their home has at least been insulated at some point, because most people can pretty easily identify the existence of any pink fluffy stuff floating around.
So how exactly does insulation work? Well, you’ve heard of down insulated vests or jackets, right? This means that this outerwear could have just been made of one layer of material, but instead, it was filled with down feathers to keep your body temperature comfy-cozy. It’s basically taking the idea from Mother Nature. Animals or birds that endure cold temperatures do so because their feathers insulate their bodies. Similarly, the pink insulation is put into our homes to maintain our home’s comfortable temperature despite what is going on outside.
Your home may not be properly insulated as a result of your contractor making the decision not install a lot of insulation. Unfortunately, insulation isn’t the highest priority to some homebuyers, so contractors lessen the money they spend on insulation, and put the money into other home furnishings such as appliances. Of course we want our homes properly insulated, but it’s true that some homebuyers are not as privy toward the value of insulation, and would much rather see brand new appliances.
Maybe you’re considering having more insulation installed, or maybe you want to learn what kind of insulation will work best for you or how much you should have. Either way, it won’t hurt to understand which kind you have, or maybe decide upon the one you should get. There are several kinds to choose from including: fiberglass, cellulose, and spray foam. Your energy professional will recommend what is best for you depending upon the existing insulation, how much more you need, and type of space being insulated.
What’s an R-Value?
The building industry denotes the R-value of a product as its level of thermal resistance. When applied to your home’s insulation, this means that you want to be sure to purchase the insulation with the highest R-value, as necessary. The pink fluffy insulation is ranked from a 2.3 to a 4.3 depending upon what kind of fiberglass you want– loose, regular, or high performance.
The three types of insulation with the highest R-value are: Polyisocyanurate board- foil faced, Polyisocyanurate board- unfaced, and Spray polyurethane foam. These range from 5.6 to 7.
Now What?
After you have a better understanding of why it’s important to have a well insulated home, you may want to schedule a comprehensive home energy audit. Not only will an energy audit help you understand your insulation performance, but also inform you about the rest of your house, such as ductwork, HVAC, and lighting. You can learn all about home energy audits and the vital aspects of energy savings by finding an energy auditor near you.
Author Bio: Dr. Energy Saver(TM) is a cost-effective solution to homeowners’ insufficient energy emissions and conduct a 95-step energy audit in Cialis Connecticut at your home. they are an insulation contractor in Connecticut that addresses and fixes any problems. Contact them today at 1-888-490-1609.
Category: Home/Home Improvement
Keywords: home energy,energy audit,home energy savings,energy savings,home energy audit,energy professional