How Does Attic Insulation Affect Your Home’s Energy Efficiency?

Attic insulation is a huge factor in improving a home’s energy efficiency. It keeps heat from escaping in winter and blocks excess heat from entering in summer, so without proper insulation, you can expect to lose lots of conditioned air through the attic. Adding insulation creates a barrier that allows you to maintain more stable indoor temperatures and throw less workload onto your Castle Hills heating and cooling system.

How Does Attic Insulation Affect Your Castle Hills Home’s Energy Efficiency?

Heat naturally moves from warmer areas to cooler ones through the physical processes of conduction, convection, and radiation. What this means for an uninsulated attic is that indoor heat rises and escapes through the ceiling in winter, while outdoor heat from the roof transfers downward in summer. Insulation is what stops this by trapping air and slowing heat transfer. The materials you use to insulate an attic are rated by something called an R-value, which measures their resistance to heat flow. The higher the R-value, the better the material is for keeping the heat away.

Enhancing Comfort and Reducing Strain on Your HVAC

Proper insulation improves your indoor comfort by minimizing temperature fluctuations throughout the home. Rooms stay warmer in winter and cooler in summer naturally, without you having to adjust the thermostat so much, and you get more even distribution of temperature with no drafts or hot spots. Insulation also benefits the HVAC system, as it prevents extreme attic temperatures from affecting the ducts that often run through this space. With less heat gain or loss, the system runs less often, which both lowers your energy consumption and extends your equipment life.

Quantifying the Savings and Long-Term Gains

Adding or upgrading insulation can make a difference of hundreds of dollars for the average household. In homes with no existing insulation, you’ll see especially big changes. It wouldn’t be out of the question for your energy costs to drop by more than 50% with the right insulation. Over time, the initial investment you make in insulation is going to pay off quickly.

The Right Insulation

Installing insulation requires looking carefully at the home’s structure and making decisions that are going to allow you to achieve maximum effectiveness. Our first step will be air sealing to close any gaps around the access hatches, vents, and light fixtures. These leaks can seriously reduce your insulation performance, and caulk or foam sealants are best for forming a tight barrier. This is also going to go a long way to control moisture and prevent issues like mold. Then, we’ll measure the current insulation depth (if you have any) and add new layers as needed without compressing the existing material, so it can maintain its R-value. With tools like infrared cameras and blower door tests, we can verify all the seals and get a good look at the whole insulation picture.

The right insulation will do wonders; but only if it’s installed the right way. Reach out to us now at Beluga Air in San Antonio, TX, where we’re committed to quality, bound by morals, and determined to be the best. 

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