Is your home getting the most from its insulation? Carefully chosen and properly installed insulation helps keep your utility bills down — by preventing leaks of the air your HVAC system has worked to cool or warm — and helps keep your family comfortable year-round. A number of factors help determine the effectiveness of a home’s insulation.

The type of insulation you use and where you use it can make all the difference. Ideally, your home should be insulated from bottom to top — from foundation to roof. Among the types of insulation:

• Loose fill. Often a cellulose or recycled paper/fiber product.  Loose fill is blown into spaces, especially attics and tough-to-reach areas. It becomes effective when installed in the right thickness.
• Batt or blanket. Traditional fiberglass product, often presized to fit between studs in floors, walls and ceilings. It’s effective only if the home is properly sealed.
• Rigid board. Foam panels of insulation, typically installed in exterior walls and ceilings. It must be fire proofed.
• Spray foam. A type of hybrid between loose fill and batt or blanket. This works well when you’re adding insulation to already finished areas or irregularly shaped parts of your home.  A chemically mixed product, it must be installed by a professional, but it takes care of both air sealing and insulation.

Another important factor: Is you home properly air sealed? Air sealing is the use of caulking, foam or other crack sealing products to stop airflow. It can’t replace good insulation, but it helps prevent air leaks through cracks and gaps in doors, windows and elsewhere.

If you think your insulation might not be working as well as it could, an HVAC professional help you to identify problem areas and select products that can help. The Greater Sacramento experts at All Year offer thorough and comprehensive energy assessments. Please contact us anytime.

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

All Year services the Greater Sacramento area.  To get started, check out our website.