The Importance of Proper Insulation

There are a number of factors that affect the costs of maintaining a home. One major factor is Insulation. A home needs to be properly insulated, or it will be very expensive to keep the temperature at a comfortable level inside.

Benefits of a Well-Insulated Home
Homes that have been insulated to the proper level will be more comfortable and better maintain their temperature, so less heating and cooling is required. This will help minimize the amount of greenhouse gases emitted and reduce energy bills. Choosing the right type of Insulation will help make it, so the home is also more soundproof. This is great if the neighborhood is a bit loud or if you don’t want to hear sounds coming from certain rooms in the house. Without insulation, any hot air will flow toward cooler air until the air is the same temperature. This means that in the winter, for example, the hot air from your home would flow outside trying to make it so the outside would be as warm as the house. This could obviously cause some high energy bills or just leave the house feeling extra cold, neither of which is particularly desirable.

Where to Insulate
There are a few main areas in the home that should be insulated. First, the roofs and ceilings of a home should be insulated. Otherwise, almost half of the energy used to heat and cool the home will just wind up going out through the roof. Next, the exterior walls need to be insulated, as a lack of proper insulation in the walls will cause a further 20 percent of hot or cold air to leave the home. In cooler climates, it may help save about 5 percent on heating bills if the floors are insulated as well, but this might not be a good idea in hot climates. Finally, the water pipes should be insulated to minimize losses of heat from the hot water. It can also be useful to insulate any crawlspaces, the basement and the foundation in some cases.

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