Having a well-insulated house is a great way to live comfortably and save money on cooling and heating bills. Increasing the energy efficiency of insulation in your attic is a daunting task.
People living in the hottest and coldest regions must consider replacing their home insulation to keep their properties cool in summer and warm in winter months. However, the financial payoff of replacing your insulation can be substantial in the long run. It is worth paying close attention to what's happening up there.
Every year, new insulation materials are introduced in the building industry. In the past, people used crumpled-up newspapers and old clothes for attic insulation. However, now things have changed significantly. Fiberglass and spray foam have become the most common insulation materials.
With so many different insulation materials, choosing the best attic insulation has become a challenging process for homeowners. Discover with our insulation experts from Critter Stop what are the types of insulation that can suit best for your house!
Insulating your home with suitable material provides several benefits beyond comfort. Some of the major reasons why proper home insulation is worth the investment are:
When we have provided our insluation services, we have found that by insulating your house, you will be able to keep your house warm in the coldest months and cold in the hottest months of the year, which substantially reduces your heating and cooling costs.
Who does not like quieter and more peaceful homes? Insulation absorbs sounds, reducing unwanted noise from appliances and audio equipment. So, if you also want to make your house quieter, consider insulating your interior walls for sound-control.
Even if you only insulate rooms subjected to party events and large family gatherings, you will feel a huge difference.
Many people may not realize that daily routine activities such as cooking, washing, and bathing can add a huge amount of moisture to the air in their houses in the form of water vapors.
However, vapors, if trapped inside the walls, can result in mold and mildew growth. Mold and mildew can cause a huge amount of damage to your house's interior structure and become a severe health concern for you and your family members.
So, if you want to control the moisture in your house, home insulation is a great option as it will act as a strong barrier between the water vapors and walls of your house.
Insulating your house will be a one-time investment only, and it will not wear out or need maintenance for many decades. Also, it will offer you many benefits such as reduced utility bills, moisture and sound control, and much more.
If the right insulation is installed in the right way, it will work well for more than 50 years unless your attic becomes severely infested by rodents. If rats or squirrels get in your attic, they can make the insulation unsanitary and less effective, necessitating replacement. For this reason, if you hear noises in your ceiling or walls, you should call an animal removal company like Critter Stop to come check it out.
So, insulating your house might be a one-time investment, but it is definitely worth the money.
R-value is an insulating material's resistance to heat flow. Generally, R-values lie within a range of 1.5 to 7 per inch, and the higher is the R-value of insulation, the more effective it will be insulating your house.
If you want to choose the best attic insulation for your house, it is necessary to check what R-value is recommended for your home based on your location. You can easily find your house's R-value from the U.S. Department of Energy. For customers in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, the U.S. Department of Energy recommends R-38.
It is a measure of the insulation's resistance to heat flow out of a house. Another term used is winter R-value because up R-value is usually desirable in the coldest months of a year to keep precious heat in your home.
It is a measure of the insulation's resistance to heat flow inside the house. Another term used is summer R-value because down R-value is usually desirable in the hottest months of a year to keep the heat out of your home.
Total R-value is a total of both up and down R-values, so whenever you hear the term R-value, it combines up and down R-values to give you the total R-value of your house.
Selecting the best attic insulation for your house can seem confusing as different materials are designed for different applications. Some insulation materials are specifically designed to perform well in damp conditions, while others might be unsuitable.
So, to help you choose the best insulation for your house, some of the major tips that are worth paying close attention to are:
Nowadays, there are many types of insulation available in the market. So, if you want to replace your old insulation, you should know about the different kinds of options available. Here are the common types of insulation materials:
Each type of insulating material has different R-values per inch of thickness.
Once you know about the options available, you will have to decide the area or areas of your home that needs insulation. While exterior walls and floors can be insulated, attics offer homeowners the biggest bang for their insulation buck, by far. Once you have decided on your areas for insulation, it will be easy for you to choose the insulating material.
It is worth remembering that any insulation is better than no insulation. So, don't focus too much on insulating material just. Also, it is not necessary to insulate the entire house at once, as even insulating a small area in your home will still make a positive difference in saving energy.
Once you have decided the space you want to insulate, do some additional research to help you identify what type of insulation will work best for you based on your location and the characteristics of the area you are insulating.
For example, if you only have 5 inches of space available for insulation, you will need insulating material with high thermal performance, such as plastic fiber or phenolic foam, which will cost you more.
For customers in Dallas-Fort Worth looking to insulate their attic, most DFW insulation professionals recommend fiberglass blow-in insulation for its effectiveness and affordability.
The insulation cost depends on various factors, such as the type of insulating material and how much of it you will need. For calculating the cost to insulate your house, you will also need to assess the condition of your home. Start by checking the R-value of your old insulation and see if you can improve it somehow. One way you can do this is by a simple “top-off,” adding 5-10 inches of insulation on top of your old insulation materials.
While spray foam offers many benefits, it is often the most expensive option. Alternatively, cellulose is often the most affordable option, but has many drawbacks.
Before moving forward with your insulation of choice, it is wise to reach out to professional insulation companies to get an unbiased opinion on your insulation needs. They can help you determine what type of insulation will work best for you and also provide an estimate of how much insulation you will need.
Insulating your house will have outstanding comfort and energy-saving impacts for many years to come. In Texas, many homeowners don't realize the importance of a well-insulated home until the dog days of summer, when the best Dallas-Fort Worth insulation companies are booked out many weeks, or even months.
Unless you have ample insulation, you should consider making the investment in replacing your old insulation with more efficient and durable insulating materials. There are many important things to consider when installing insulation, so it is advisable to get an insulation contractor’s expertise on the best path forward. If you are planning to replace your home’s insulation, call us at (214) 234-2616. At Critter Stop, we have a experienced team of insulation experts that will install your insulation the right way. Your well-insulated, more energy-efficient house is one call away!
Visit our Critter Library and learn more about our furry friends
