Why is efficient home insulation good for saving energy?
Almost half of your electric bill goes to regulating the temperature of your home. Thus if you want to save on your electric bills, the best place to start is your home’s insulation system.
Insulation is important to minimize or eliminate the heat exchange/loss inside your house. Good insulation keeps the interior warm during winter and cold during hot summer days. A well-insulated house allows your heating and cooling systems to effectively work as needed. Proper insulation can save as much as 10% of your monthly electric bill.
Meanwhile, if your house has leaks or if it has insufficient insulation, air will pass through; and heat exchange will occur on areas where insulation is inadequate. This results to heat loss. And because a house with leaks and insufficient insulation requires more power to regulate its temperature, energy consumption will likely increase.
Where to insulate?
Areas of the house including the switches, power outlets, plumbing fixtures, walls, windows, doors, ceilings, floors, basement, crawl spaces and attic should be properly insulated.
Insulation Tips
Make sure that you consider factors such as building design, budget and climate when selecting the R-values of the insulation materials. Use the proper R-values insulating materials for particular parts of the house.
Consider parts of your house such as the attic, floors, kitchen, bathroom, windows, walls, door and other parts where heat loss are more likely to happen. Use the required insulation materials on these parts to effectively control the temperature.
Sunk-lights can be a source of heat loss but you need to be careful on how close you place the insulation next to these fixtures. Check with your local building codes for reference.
When constructing a home, check on some construction materials that provide both structural support and good insulation.
Follow the product instruction when installing the insulation. Product instructions are the best source of information on how to maximize the use the products.
More Energy Saving Tips
Reduce your light consumption. Some lights produce heat that affects the temperature of the house.
Keep your temperature sensor away from hot materials like stove, oven, lights and other appliances that emit heat to get accurate temperature reading for effective heat regulation.
If the temperature outside is comfortably warm or cold, turn off your heating or cooling system. During heat season, open the drapes of the south-facing windows to allow natural light to enter your home. Close it at night to prevent cool winds from coming in. During winter, keep the drapes and shades closed to help reduce heat loss.
Buy energy-efficient products that will help minimize heat loss and reduce power consumption. Find a reputable contractor and ask advice on good heating and cooling equipment to buy.
During winter, adjust your thermostat at the lowest comfortable level; during summer, highest comfortable level.
Minimize the use of heat generating appliances to reduce the use of cooling system and save on electric bill.
A well-insulated house is like a well-sealed refrigerator. Lesser heat loss means lesser power consumption; and more heat loss means the motor will work harder to maintain the desired interior temperature and thus more energy consumed.
Saving energy means saving money. Make sure that you routinely check your house for leaks and holes and replace or repair leaking parts as soon as you discover them.
