Still hot and humid? Not for long! Soon, shorter days will bring cooler temperatures. For many homeowners in the South, that means the season of trying to stay warm will be upon us. If your home is without any insulation at all – or it’s been decades since the insulation has been upgraded – you’re likely battling an unwinnable war.
If you’re looking at upgrading the insulation in your walls and attic, or finally upgrading insulation in key places, here’s what you should know about insulating your home in a warm climate.
Choose the right location
Investing in a project that creates a more efficient home means insulating the attic. The attic bears the brunt of the heat, as the sun beats down on your home over the long, hot summer. Without effective insulation in the attic, heat builds up in the space, causing energy costs to soar. In winter, however, the reverse happens. You’ll feel like your home is continuously losing any heat generated by the furnace, and taking on the cold, outside air.
With insulation in the attic, you’ll keep energy costs down because that heat won’t escape into your home through the attic floor. Your air conditioning ducts will then be located in a conditioned space, which means less energy loss. You see, as the cold air travels through ducts located in a hot space, energy escapes through the duct walls. Essentially, you’re paying to cool air that’s only going to lose energy as it travels through the attic ducts.
As winter approaches, you need to know that the cold air will stay outside and the warm air will hang out inside – where it belongs. Only insulation can help you win this war.
Wrap it up
But don’t stop with the attic. Your best bet to stay warm over the winter (and cool over the summer) is to install a continuous layer of insulation around your home – in the walls. In many homes in the South, wall insulation is often non-existent. However, even in homes where insulation batts line the wall joists, there will be energy lost through the home’s building materials. This is called “thermal bridging,” where energy moves through the studs, for example. Unless the entire home is wrapped in insulation, you’ll lose heat in winter and cool air in summer.
Consider using injection foam insulation in your walls, a material that hardens after installation and creates an airtight barrier against the cold. It has a higher R-value, the efficiency rating for insulation, and it doesn’t settle. As a result, it’s durable and effective, often outlasting the homeowner. If your family is tired of cold temperatures and setting up a space heater in whatever room they’re occupying, it’s time to get serious about home efficiency.
Stop suffering through another chilly winter. Get your home in shape to combat the cold. Call USA Insulation today for more information about retrofitting your home with injection foam wall insulation.
