Benefits of Insulation
If your home is not insulated, then you should take action as soon as possible because you can benefit quite significantly from making the necessary changes. Some of the benefits of insulating your home are as follows:
Advantages of insulating your home
First and foremost, you will gain immediate cost savings if your house is not already insulated. These will be on account of better energy efficiency of your entire house due to less use of electricity in heating and cooling of the house.
Secondly, insulation will regulate the temperature of the house so that it is fairly constant and therefore more comfortable to live in. This is especially important for places with extreme weather
Third, insulation can filter out noise from outside the house and increase privacy in rooms by keeping sound within rooms. This is achieved since insulation creates a sound barrier.
Fourth, insulation keeps away allergens and environmental pollutants from getting into the house and thus creates a barrier to keep your family healthy.
Fifth, insulation can prevent condensation which causes dampness. Dampness from condensation can results in mold and mildew which are a health concern. Dampness can also cause the weakening of the structural integrity of your house which can cause a lot of damage to your entire home.
Which areas of your home should you insulate
If you want to fully benefit from insulation, your entire home should be insulated from roof to basement. With insulation, the efficiency is as good as the weakest link and therefore a comprehensive strategy should be the most ideal goal for you to benefit from insulation.
That being said, some of the specific areas of your house that you should pay close attention to include:
- The attic
- Duct systems
- Ceilings
- Exterior walls
- Floors, especially those above unheated spaces like garages
- Foundations and basements
- Doors and windows
Hiring an insulation contractor
Finding the right insulation contractor is critical if you want to achieve maximum insulation efficiency of your home. In order to find the right insulation contractor, you should follow the following steps:
- Ask for the insulation contractors certification and training competence and whether they are affiliated to a professional body where you can verify their certification
- Confirm that they have good references from other customers and from professional bodies and authorities like your local government, Chambers of Commerce or the local Better Business Bureau.
- Inquire about the materials that they use for the job. Materials should be discussed in terms of R-values for clarity and not just according to thickness of materials used
- Ask about the cost of the service and how payments should be made
- Ask whether the insulation contractor has insurance and a guarantee for the services rendered
