9 Tips For Improving Your Home’s Insulation

Image Source

Effective insulation plays a key role in maintaining a well-regulated indoor temperature. It ensures that outside air doesn’t come inside your home and that the air inside doesn’t leave that easily. That’s how you can improve your comfort when indoors and save money on utility bills.

For instance, Naperville residents pay $1,300 an average a year on power, a sum 36% lower than the national average. But it can be even lower with better insulation.

As July, the hottest month in Naperville, IL is here, it’s time you improve the insulation in your house. Read the guidelines mentioned in this blog and we’ll help you cost-effectively make your house more energy-efficient. Without further ado, here’s how your home can become better insulated today:

• Inspect the house and identify cracks

You need to confirm that the current insulation in your house is intact. Inspect your home properly by checking the insulation in your attic, walls, and floors. Determine if this insulation needs to be upgraded or replaced for better performance. If you notice any signs of old, damaged, or ineffective insulation, it must be replaced immediately.

Cracks can be easily identified during thorough cleaning processing. Evergreen State homeowners who hire crawl space cleaning in Kitsap County, WA quickly learn about all the possible cracks. The same can be seen during gutter cleaning or roof repairings.

• Upgrade and repair the roof

Your roof helps keep the temperature inside your home consistent and insulates the property to ensure the well-being of its residents. After heavy rainfall, water can seep through your outdated roof and damage insulation material. That’s why you must upgrade a leaky roof and repair any storm-caused damages. In Illinois cities, such as Naperville, replacing a roof may cause anywhere from $4,000 to $24,000 based on its age, material, and the extent of damages.

However, a local roofer in Naperville can quote you a more reasonable rate to upgrade your roof and improve your home’s insulation. Ensure you work with highly-rated, experienced, and licensed roof remodeling contractors in Naperville, IL. These skilled roofers will ensure your roof is strong enough to withstand Naperville’s severe weather conditions, such as floods, storms, and tornados. A solid roof is necessary for better home insulation!

• Caulk the corner gaps to prevent air leakage

Small gaps and cracks in the house’s structure can affect temperature regulation and allow air to escape from your home or come inside. To fix this problem, use silicone caulk to close these gaps and cracks for reinforced insulation.

Check for air leaks around your doors, windows, electrical outlets, and other openings in the house. Seal these cracks using caulk, weather stripping, or expanding foam insulation. It’ll help you prevent draft or temperature fluctuations.

• Use a door snake 

A simple, aesthetic, and cost-effective way to regulate the home’s temperature involves placing a draft stopper along the cracks beneath your door. Also called a draft excluder or simply a door snake, this device is placed at the bottom of your house’s main entry points, such as doors and windows, to improve your property’s insulation. These door snakes don’t cost a lot and you can create a makeshift excluder at home as well.

• Get weather stripping for windows 

Weather stripping involves sealing all visible openings in your doors and windows to make the house more energy-efficient. You can save 10% to 15% on your energy bills simply by adding or upgrading the weather-stripping material. It’ll prevent unwanted moisture, heat, and insects from coming inside your home.

• Install a programmable thermostat

A programmable thermostat allows you to regulate the temperature inside the house. It automatically lowers the temperature when nobody is home, or everyone is sleeping to cut down on your heating and cooling expenses. It’s estimated that you can save a generous 10% on your HVAC costs simply by turning your thermostat back 7°-10°F from its normal settings eight hours daily. A programmable one does that for you on its own.

• Hang heavy curtains in your house

Adding insulation to your home isn’t as difficult as many homeowners usually imagine especially when you read this guide to insulating crawl space. You can replace the curtains in your house with thicker, more energy-efficient blinds to improve your home’s insulation. Opening and closing blinds wisely can also make your house more energy-efficient, lower electricity bills, and improve insulation. For instance, a survey shows that you may reduce heat loss by 13% simply by drawing the blinds at dusk.

• Insulate the flooring and attic stairs

If you have an unheated basement beneath the house, consider insulating the floors above to maintain a comfortable temperature in your home. Installing insulation batts or rigid foam insulation between the floor joists will do the job.

Similarly, your attic contributes significantly to heat loss and gain in the house. Add insulation to the attic floor to prevent air from leaving or entering your home. Use fiberglass batts, blown-in cellulose insulation, or spray foam insulation to insulate the attic. Don’t forget about the attic stairs, which are just a big opening in your home’s ceiling.

• Insulate your boiler with a blanket

Data suggests that doubling the thickness of your boiler’s insulation material can lower the heat loss by 44%. Consider wrapping up your boiler with a blanket to keep all the heat in and prevent it from escaping to the atmosphere. Just imagine your boiler is wearing a thick jacket that’s keeping it warm in winter. Do the same to your water heater to improve your house’s insulation significantly.

Conclusion

This blog explores various strategies and practical advice to help you optimize your home’s insulation. All you have to do is to inspect your house cracks from where the air is leaking and seal them shut. Using door snakes and proper weather-stripping material for windows will improve the insulation cost-effectively. Don’t forget about upgrading the roof. Call local professionals to repair or replace your worn-out roof.