According to Energy.gov, in the average American home, heating and cooling account for 50-70 percent of all energy used.  Even if you’ve recently upgraded to a more energy-efficient HVAC system, keeping your home warm and toasty throughout the frigid winter months can be expensive. This is especially true if you live in an older home, but even if your home is new, there’s one fairly simply way to reduce your energy bills this winter: adding or upgrading your insulation.                  

Why Should You Upgrade Your Insulation?

Newer homes should be better insulated than older homes, as new building energy codes have gotten stricter over the past several years. However, many homes today are still not insulated to optimal levels. In fact, some experts estimate that as many as 40 million single-family homes in the United States could use more insulation.

However, adding insulation to your attic can provide some easy results. Since hot air rises, you’ll want to make sure the top floor that meets the attic space is sealed and insulated. You should also check for other places around the home where warm air may be escaping, like around windows and doors or anywhere you have vents or outlets. Even a ceiling fan or lighting fixture that was improperly installed could be allowing warm air to escape! These small leaks can be closed up with inexpensive insulation like spray foam, caulk or weather-stripping.

If you find that heat is escaping through your walls and or roof (and these types of leaks can be found by purchasing a leak detector from a hardware store) adding more, or better, insulation can help. The type of insulation you use will depend on how extensive the project itself is; if you’re adding insulation to unfinished walls in between the studs, you’ll have far more choices than if you need to add insulation behind already existing drywall.

As mentioned above, adding new insulation to your attic and/or basement is one of the easiest routes to take to help stop all that warm air from escaping throughout the winter months. Head up to your attic and take note of the current insulation. If the insulation is lower than the floor joists or just level with it, you should add more until you can no longer see the joists. Just make sure when you’re adding more insulation that you’re adding it evenly throughout the entire space. Properly insulating these areas can help you save anywhere from eight to 20 percent on your energy bills.

If you have any questions about improving energy efficiency in your home this winter, contact our team of professionals today! If you’re in the Cleveland area, give us a call at 216-663-6462.