The Benefits of Ceiling Insulation
One of the best ways to improve your home’s energy efficiency and reduce your heating and cooling bills is with effective insulation. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, householders use 50 to 70 percent of their energy consumption for heating and cooling their homes. Poor or inadequate insulation results in air leakage and wasted energy. Proper insulation boosts the efficiency of your heating and cooling systems and maintains a consistent temperature throughout the house by sealing air out in the summer and winter. Insulating your ceiling won’t strain your wallet, and your investment will provide immeasurable returns.
Why Insulate Your Ceiling?
Save Money: You’re probably paying 40% more on your heating and cooling costs if you’ve overlooked your ceiling insulation. Warm air rises to the ceiling, and colder air tends to drop. When you turn the heat on in the winter, the heated air will rise and settle close to the ceiling. Thereafter, it will either warm up the room or transfer into the roof space and outside your house. The heat loss creates a vacuum for cold air to “drop” into the living space causing your heating system to work overtime to warm up the room. A reverse process occurs with your cooling system in the summer. In the end, a huge percent of heating and cooling costs will go right out your roof without adequate insulation.
5 Ceiling Insulation Benefits
1. Comfort
Increase Comfort: Insulation slows down heat transfer to keep your rooms warm in the winter and cool in the summer. You’ll notice the biggest change in your home’s comfort during the summer after you insulate the ceiling. The ceiling could get substantially hot during the summer, which could feel like you’re standing in the direct sunlight. Insulation slows down the heat coming in and reduces the workload on your air conditioner. You’ll also notice some difference in the winter in the form of reduced drafts between rooms. Insulation in your ceiling and throughout your home reduces the number of cycles your furnace makes to keep the home comfortable and increases its life by 10 to 20 years.
2. Moisture
Prevent Mold: Insulation prevents condensation, which can accumulate on the walls and ceilings and cause moisture problems. Insulated ceiling assemblies have a vapor barrier to keep moisture in the air from accumulating on your walls and ceiling. Poorly insulated ceilings contribute to harmful mold growth, which can be detrimental to your home’s structure and your family’s health. Since vapor barriers are effective only in some situations, you should speak with a contractor before using them in your projects.
3. Save on Energy Costs
The average household spends approximately $2,200 annually on their energy bills. Up to 70% of this energy goes towards heating or cooling your house. Insulating your ceiling can reduce your costs by up to 40 percent based on factors such as the size of your home and climate. According to those figures, you can reduce your heating and cooling costs by about $616 every year. Insulate your ceiling and start saving instantly!
4. Better Indoor Quality
Proper ceiling insulation has the ability to block external pollutants that create an unhealthy indoor air quality from entering your home. Such external pollutants can enter through air leaks due to poor home insulation. Ceiling insulation is able to combat this, and can stop external pollutants causing indoor mold and mildew from coming in. Indoor mold is not only unpleasant, but it can also lead to diseases for you and your family. Another thing that is great about ceiling insulation is that it removes pollutants that are currently on your insulation system, giving your home a fresh look and fresh air. Give you and your family the indoor air quality that you deserve by insulating your attic.
5. Sustainability
Last but not least, by insulating your roof, you are helping save the environment. You are not only saving energy, but you are also helping to decrease pollution, and thus, your ecological footprint. By decreasing the amount of energy that you and your family consume in your home, you are helping to make a big difference in our currently environmentally threatened world.
Get your ceiling insulated today. The total investment is not high especially compared to the savings and overall comfort for you and your family.