If your home is too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer, it’s a good time to inspect your insulation. Adding insulation to your attic is a good place to start, is a fairly easy process and can save you money quickly on your utility bills. There are many types of insulation on the market, but there are certain kinds that are better for attics, especially in an existing home, than others.

All insulation has an insulation rating — an R-value — that provides a measurement of resistance to heat flow based upon the material used, its density and its thickness. A higher R-value equals more resistance, but any insulation’s R-value can be adversely affected by improper installation. No matter if you are building a new home or adding insulation to an existing home, there are a few steps to take before adding the insulation to prevent leaks and make sure the new insulation is as effective as possible.

• Check for water stains and repair boards or roof shingles.
• Use caulking and canister foam to seal around ducts, soffits, attic doors, bulkheads, chimneys and exhaust fans.
• Install metal flashing around lights, exhaust fans, flues and chimneys.

For existing homes, loose fill (wool, cellulose, fiberglass), sprayed foam (usually Polyurethane) and foamed-in-place are the three types of insulation most often used for attics because they can be inserted easily into any type of attic or crawl space. Your choice will depend upon your budget; closed cell foam is more expensive than open cell, for instance. All three of these require professional installation.

Adding insulation to a new home design is much simpler and there are many more choices available.

Adding insulation is a great way to improve your home’s comfort while simultaneously saving energy and lowering utility bills. In the Peachtree City area, contact Powers Heating & Air to learn about the choices available. Powers has a reputation for reliable, dependable and professional service.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about adding insulation and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Powers Heating & Air serves Peachtree, GA and the surrounding areas.  Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!     

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