Having an efficient HVAC system allows you to achieve a comfortable, healthy, and safe Bountiful, UT, home. It is also a great way to cut back on what you are spending on your monthly utility bills. HVAC efficiency can also reduce the need for ongoing repairs and premature replacement. There are several ways that you can increase your HVAC system’s efficiency. One way is making sure that you have adequate insulation installed.
Reducing Your Energy Consumption With Energy Efficiency
With enough insulation in your home, the heat transfer your residence experiences is minimized thanks to a solid thermal barrier. In the summer months, heat from the outside won’t be able to make its way indoors, which reduces the need to run your air conditioning during peak hours. In the winter months, the cold air won’t be able to make its way into your home, causing your furnace to run. This reduces your overall energy consumption and lowers your utility bills.
Securing In-Home Comfort
After a long day at work, it’s nice to be able to return to a comfortable home to relax and unwind. However, you may have trouble doing this if your HVAC system struggles to maintain a consistent temperature. Hot or cold spots, drafts, and excessive heat transfer can hamper your ability to stay comfortable, increase your utility bills, and reduce your indoor air quality. The goal is to keep conditioned air circulating throughout each room consistently.
Indoor air quality is something else to consider regarding insulation. When you have minimal insulation, it results in a lot of air exchange with the outside, meaning you could be letting contaminants inside. This includes seasonal pollen, mold spores, dust, pests, pollution, and volatile organic compounds. If you are someone who deals with allergy symptoms regularly, this can aggravate symptoms like a stuffy nose, sore throat, and cough.
Protecting Your HVAC System
Your HVAC system is there when you need it, but you don’t want to take this equipment for granted. If you run your furnace or air conditioner too much, it becomes overworked. Over time, this wear and tear can lead to the need for more frequent repairs. You may also find that you need to replace your equipment prematurely. These repairs and replacements can put a burden on your monthly budget. While routine maintenance is a great way to spot problems before they become large issues, upgrading your insulation is also beneficial for cutting back on runtime and boosting overall equipment efficiency.
Maintaining a Quiet Home
In addition to maintaining an efficient home, you can utilize insulation to reduce noise. By dampening outside sounds like vehicles, construction, etc., you’ll experience better comfort. This applies to the insulation in your home’s exterior and interior walls. Attic and basement insulation can also impact sound.
Efficiency Reducing Your Carbon Footprint
Having proper insulation in your home can help promote a more sustainable residence. If you can reduce your energy consumption, this leads to fewer greenhouse gas emissions and a lower carbon footprint for your home. You can feel good knowing that you’re doing your part to help the environment.
Assessing Insulation Levels
Working with a knowledgeable professional is essential to determine if your home lacks insulation. Our team will look at how much insulation you currently have in different areas of your home. We will also take into consideration your type of insulation. R-value is a rating system that explains how much heat can travel through a specific kind of insulation. This thermal resistance tends to be lower for things like fiberglass insulation installed in sheets. Something like spray foam insulation tends to have a higher R-value because it slows down the heat that can pass through from outside to inside your home.
If we determine that your home lacks insulation, we can recommend where improvements can be made. We’ll also discuss the various products we can use and the project’s overall cost. It may be an option to use different materials in different areas. For example, spray foam insulation is often used in attics or basements.
Insulation Options for HVAC Efficiency
Several options are available if you’re specifically concerned about increasing the efficiency of your HVAC system with ample insulation.
Insulation Batts
These are rolls of insulation that can be cut and installed in various areas. They are the most used insulation product in the U.S.
Loose Fill
This pellet-shaped insulation is very useful for areas that may benefit from additional insulation but are hard to reach, such as interior walls. A professional won’t have to cut into walls or cause disruption to your home to install it.
Spray Foam Insulation
A large hose and compressor are used to blow semi-liquid insulation material into various areas of your home. After a certain amount of time, the insulation is cured and hard to touch. It provides a very tight seal against the outside.
Foam Board Insulation
If you are undergoing new construction, you can use sheets of foam board insulation behind drywall. This is a commonly used basement product, as it tends to have water-repelling features.
Reflective Insulation
Before heat can enter your home, reflective insulation will repel that heat back into the outdoor environment where it belongs.
Radiant Barrier
This is a similar product to reflective insulation. It comes in large rolls and can be installed under roofing materials, in attics, etc. It achieves a strong barrier, allowing your home to experience better insulation.
Signs Your HVAC System Would Benefit From Insulation
If you’re wondering whether or not your HVAC efficiency would improve with additional insulation, consider a few different factors.
High Utility Bills
Do you feel your energy consumption and utility bills are higher than they should be? You may be overworking your HVAC system due to inadequate insulation levels. Proper insulation can provide significant cost savings.
Drafts
Are there certain spots in your home that feel drafty and uncomfortable? Your HVAC system is likely running more than needed to achieve your desired temperature. The extra stress on your system can have costly consequences.
Moisture Issues
Insulation helps control the temperature in your home and can also impact humidity. If you struggle to keep your relative humidity at a normal level, you may have too much air coming in from the outside.
Contact Us Today
If you need assistance with your Bountiful home’s insulation, you can rely on the team at Blue Best Plumbing, Heating, Air, Generators. We would be happy to provide you with an energy assessment, determining if upgrading your insulation will improve HVAC efficiency, boost indoor air quality, and lower your utility bills. We also offer a variety of other services, including the installation, repair, and maintenance of all heating and cooling equipment. This includes heat pumps and mini-splits. We also offer plumbing assistance, such as unclogging pipes, making new fixture installations, and more. Customer satisfaction is our top priority on every project. We want to make sure your HVAC system runs optimally all year long, which is why we provide a dedicated maintenance plan.
If you’re ready to get started with a consultation, contact Blue Best Plumbing, Heating, Air, Generators today to schedule an appointment with our friendly staff.
