Custom Insulation Blog

The cooler weather is here, and there are plenty of ways to decrease your home heating bills. Obviously, doing a home energy audit is a perfect place to start. But better insulating your home is a great place to start.

You need insulation in your home to provide resistance to heat flow. The more heat flow resistance your insulation provides, the lower your heating and cooling costs.

Ducts that move air to and from a forced air furnace, central air conditioner, or heat pump can waste energy. Sealing and insulating these ducts can improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling system by as much as 20%. Start with the attic, basement, and garage. These are areas where your ducts are often not insulated. By insulating your air ducts you can maintain the  temperature of the air flowing through them and into your home.

One of the most basic ways to make your home more energy efficient is by adding insulation. Energy typically escapes through a house's top floor or attic, so add more insulation there to save.

Contact Custom Insulation to improve the existing insulation in your home.

There are many ways to increase your home’s efficiency for the upcoming winter. Properly insulated homes have significantly lower heating and cooling bills. However, often homeowners do not think of insulation when looking for ways to lower their heating costs.

Your attic may be insulated, but check out your attic access way. In the form of a hatch, pull-down stairs, or a knee-wall door, attic accesses often go uninsulated. This gap in the attic insulation increases heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer.

Also, attic accesses often aren't sealed properly. A 1/4-inch gap around the perimeter of an attic access can leak the same amount of air supplied by a typical bedroom heating duct.

Knee walls are often found in houses with finished attics, they are vertical walls with attic space directly behind them. These walls are usually leaky and often uninsulated. A knee wall and the attic floor in the attic space behind it should be properly insulated and air sealed.

Properly insulating air ducts located in unconditioned spaces such as attics, crawl spaces, garages, or unfinished basements can also help improve your home's energy efficiency.

Air ducts supply conditioned air from your space heating and cooling equipment to your living spaces. They also return an equal volume of air back to the equipment to be conditioned again. Ducts are typically made out of thin metal materials that easily conduct heat. Therefore, uninsulated or poorly insulated ducts in unconditioned spaces can lose 10%–30% of the energy used to heat and cool your home.

If you properly insulate your crawl space—in addition to air sealing and controlling moisture, you will save on energy costs and increase your home's comfort.

Contact Custom Insulation for more information on making your home more energy efficient.

As the days get warmer you might start dreaming of air conditioning. But, there are some other ways to keep your house more comfortable during hot summer days that are easier on your wallet and the environment.

Attics can reach temperatures over 140 degrees F on hot summer days. If there isn’t much insulation between the ceiling and attic a lot of this heat is going to be transferred into the house.  Increasing attic insulation can make a big difference in the comfort level of a home and will also cut your heating costs in the winter. By adding R40 insulation to a poorly insulated attic the temperature inside the house will drop by 6-8 º F on hot days.

Proper attic ventilation is also important in keeping your house cool and extending the life of your roof. Without it, as the sun goes down your attic won’t cool off as much and will continue to heat your house throughout the night.

The use of spray foam insulation has been rapidly growing as Architects, Builders and Homeowners become aware of the long term energy savings and comfort benefits associated with using spray foam. However, if you have a walk up attic, blanket insulation would be fine to use.

Homeowners concerned about high energy bills have put energy conservation home improvements at the top of their must-do list this year. They are looking for green living upgrades that save money without sacrificing space or style.

Because heating costs are typically one of the highest and most variable home expenses, homeowners are considering energy-efficient zone heating options when embarking on home renovation projects.

Overall we have seen an increase in fireplace makeovers in the last few years. Finding and eliminating wasteful drafts and more efficient heating solutions has lead homeowners to install efficient pellet stoves and wood burning inserts that transform inefficient open fireplaces into high performing heating zones.

Wood burning fireplace inserts and pellet stoves are excellent zone heating options for those in the process of building or renovating a new home and who are looking to outfit their homes with advanced heating technology.

Buying an insert or stove is much like buying furniture, you will find a wide-choice of models that match every lifestyle and design. While evaluating the right size, heating capacity and look of your future stove or insert, also consider these three eco-wise tips:

1. Only evaluate pellet stoves that meet or exceed EPA standards and are currently tax credit qualified.
2. Look for an eco-friendly seal and a recycled ingredients label that lists the many ways that a manufacturer has gone the extra mile to produce the highest quality and most energy efficient wood stove, possible.