Insulation is usually associated with keeping something warm, like a cup of coffee, a soup thermos, or a log cabin in the snowy mountains. But what about the cooler you bring with you to the beach every summer? Its insulated layer keeps your food and drinks cold and sand-free. Insulating your home can do the same thing – it keeps your home cool and allergen-free. While it’s beach weather almost all year-round, insulation is a must for your home.
Signs of poor insulation
Did you know that before 1975, Florida homes were not required by law to have insulation? If your home is on the older side, you may be spending a small fortune keeping your home cool during the warm weather. Is your house brand new? Trust us, you can still experience some – or all – of the following:
Energy bills through the roof
We might be a little biased, but there are so many more fun things to do when the weather gets warmer. Save your money for these fun activities instead of dishing your hard-earned cash out towards insanely high energy bills. No matter how hard you try, does your home not stay cool even when you have the air conditioner on its highest setting? If so, warm air is likely leaking into your home.
Heat naturally flows from warm to cool areas. The blistering heat outside is attracted to your air-conditioned home, slipping through gaps in your insulation, doors, and windows. Doors and windows are easy to fix with some weatherstripping, caulking, and some curtains. Insulation, on the other hand, needs an upgrade. You want to make sure that your insulation has strong heat resistance, or what is known as R-value. The higher the R-value , the more heat resistance it provides. Living in Florida, it’s recommended that your attic insulation has an R-value of 30 to 60, and your walls have 13 to 15. Your attic is the most important place in your home to insulate. Ever go into your attic on a hot day? If your home doesn’t have proper insulation, that heat will eventually leak into the living areas of your home. Oh, and did we mention that insulation prevents mold?
Unnecessary upgrade to a larger A/C unit
The bigger your A/C unit is, the higher your energy bill is. If your home is not well-insulated, your air conditioner has to work a lot harder than it would normally have to. You’ll end up purchasing a larger A/C unit to keep your home comfortable. Energy-efficiency goes hand-in-hand with lower energy bills. Let’s not forget that a larger unit not only means higher costs to run but also requires a larger investment up front.
Discomfort from allergens
Insulation is no one-trick pony. It not only can keep your home cool when the temperatures begin to rise, but it also helps decrease discomfort from seasonal allergies. Believe it or not, air flows freely from the outside and through your home. You can decrease this airflow by air sealing your doors and windows, as well as properly insulating your walls and attic. If your home has insulation, air can still flow through unsealed gaps. The last thing you want is air with pollen to enter your home. Even if you don’t have allergies, the airflow from the outdoors can bring unwanted guests such as mold spores. Protect your home by insulating it properly. We highly recommend spray foam insulation because it’s much easier to get a tighter seal than with fiberglass or cellulose insulation.
Curious if your home has the right amount of insulation? Call our energy experts today for a home energy audit to see where you can start saving on your energy bills.
