Insulating your attic space can be a great investment for your home. Not only does it provide comfort, but it also helps protect your heating and cooling equipment, improve indoor air quality, and increase the value of your home. A very common reason for adding insulation is comfort. By isolating the space, you can seal your attic and keep unwanted guests, such as birds, squirrels, mice, and other pests, out of your attic and out of your house.
It is important to note that animal or pest excrement represents a health hazard and old insulation may already have nests or excrement. Replacing or updating attic insulation after 15 years can help protect your health and that of your family. Not only does insulation provide comfort, but it also helps improve indoor air quality. When insulation fills or blocks small gaps and cracks in the house that lead to the outside, it not only helps keep the house cooler in summer, but it also prevents potential allergens and toxins from entering the house.
Many different pollutants could enter your home from outside, especially during the summer, such as mold, radon, and smoke. Adding insulation to the attic can help greatly decrease the amount of these irritants entering the home. In fact, according to the Insulation Institute, 90 percent of homes in the United States are poorly insulated. With proper attic insulation, not only can you save between 15 and 50 percent per year on your energy costs, but you'll also feel more comfortable in your home. In addition, your heating, ventilation and air conditioning system doesn't have to work as hard and therefore lasts longer.
James Rada, writing in PocketSense, points out that: “As the heat increases, one of the most likely places for you to escape from your home is through the attic and roof. In the U. S., “More than 50 percent of the energy used in a typical American home goes to space heating and cooling. Much of that air conditioning escapes through poorly sealed and poorly insulated attics. Only 20 percent of homes built before 1980 are well insulated.
Installing proper attic insulation is a good investment, not only because it can significantly reduce your energy bills, but also because it can increase the resale value of your home. According to a realtor, you can recover the cost of insulation by up to 95 percent with resale. According to Cost vs Value, there was a time when attic insulation ranked as the best return on investment for home improvement. And Cost Estimates argues that “adding insulation to the attic has the highest return on investment of any home improvement project” according to a respected annual survey of the construction industry. The most recent data shows that attic insulation increases home sales prices by 107% of their cost. Attic insulation absorbs the heat produced by heating systems during the winter months and, conversely, can prevent warm air from spreading through the house from the attic where you'll notice the biggest peak of heat of the day during summer.
Insulation that is exposed to air movement can reduce the benefits of even the highest R-value insulation. Increased home value: If you've been thinking about listing your house for sale, checking the insulation of your attic could be a good first step. With adequate attic insulation both to keep air conditioner inside and prevent outside air from entering, heating and cooling system has fewer cycles and consequently extends life cycle of product. While it may be too cold or hot to inhabit now adding spray foam or other insulation can eliminate extreme temperatures in attic space. From reducing sounds of storm to silencing barking of neighbor's dog attic insulation can help keep home quiet. The attic hatch is large hole in attic floor with door and attached retractable ladder for easy access to attic space it is common feature in many homes around world. In addition common mistakes made by homeowners who try to install attic insulation themselves such as blocking ventilation grilles or using improper installation techniques can be very costly to repair.
However an experienced contractor can install those types of insulation if they can find one with sufficient R-value. Ensure that attic insulation has proper R-value that insulation is placed in all right areas install cover for attic hatch and even seal hermetically. If you have relatively new and properly functioning heating and cooling system culprit is most likely inadequate insulation especially your attic insulation. Adding insulation to your attic helps lower energy costs by reducing amount of energy you need to keep home at comfortable level. Inadequate insulation in your attic makes heating and cooling house inefficient not only making it less comfortable in home but also costing you money.
