Home cues to curb energy loss

Many homeowners may not immediately think of air leakage as a huge problem at home. However, air leakage, caused by numerous gaps and cracks throughout your home’s infrastructure, can cause your HVAC equipment to work overtime and place a strain on your wallet every month.

The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says it’s not as hard as one might think to address energy loss within the home. Here are several smart home renovation investments that homeowners can make to reduce excessive energy loss.

Ensuring your home has a polyolefin plastic house wrap is one common method to minimize air leakage. This type of wrap is commonly installed during the construction process as part of an integrated, whole building envelope system.

Having your home professionally caulked and sealed is another simple and quick investment that addresses energy loss within the home. Another consideration is having whole house fans installed. These fans help by pulling air through the house and are particularly effective in warm weather.

One of the most effective methods to eliminate air leakage and live greener is ensuring that your home is insulated with a high performance insulation solution. Traditional insulation is prone to sagging, leaving gaps and absorbing moisture, which can have significant health impacts on occupants while allowing for significant energy loss.

Replacing your home’s insulation with a high-performance material such as spray foam insulation will both insulate and air seal the entire attic space, leading to immediate cost savings. Insulation experts from Icynene suggest that quality spray foam insulation can noticeably reduce heating and cooling costs, in some cases by up to 50 percent. These savings will continue over the long-term.

A growing number of building professionals are recommending spray foam insulation as a valuable, cost-effective solution. Suitable for any climate, spray foam insulation helps retain the conditioned air within the building, allowing the heating and cooling equipment to work more efficiently.

As a result of the improved energy consumption, costs are kept down and air leaks become a thing of the past. Homeowners can learn easy steps for selecting the right insulation for their home on icynene.com.

This article is courtesy of Brandpoint.