While we’re well into fall and approaching winter, you may find that your home performance goals are different than in the summer. Whether you need to reevaluate how much you’re spending on your HVAC system—or if you’ve never even thought of it much until now—there are a few services you can have done to start getting a better handle on your monthly energy expenses.
First, Start With an Energy Audit
It’s not uncommon for homeowners to hear about several different kinds of energy-saving tips and tricks and then trying to apply whichever ones they’re able to. But that can actually be harmful to your home’s efficiency and indoor air quality, such as in the case of too much insulation or too much air sealing.
The truth is that everyone’s home efficiency situation is different. A proper energy audit is going to help you figure out exactly where you need improvements in the home.
After all, if your car wasn’t performing properly, you wouldn’t just dive in and start taking things apart. You’d need to have it assessed first with a diagnostic check. An energy audit achieves the same purpose, but for informing you of how your home is using and wasting energy.
Have Your Insulation Evaluated and Replaced
Homes naturally have spots that are hotter or colder than other parts, and that goes a long way in affecting your home’s energy efficiency as well as your comfort. The problem can be fixed, however, with the proper amounts of insulation.
But you can’t just stuff insulation into the attic and call it a day. Combined with the information learned from an energy audit, you need the help of a home performance expert in Brandon, MS to determine how much insulation is needed and where.
While you may be familiar with fiberglass insulation, blown-in insulation is quickly becoming the best method for adding insulation to your home. This type of insulation comes from a hose and is made of recycled paper, so it can be applied with less effort.
Some of the benefits include:
- No need to tear open your walls to install fiberglass insulation.
- Tight corners—which typically can’t be covered by other insulation methods—will easily be filled.
- Treated to resist fire, mold, and mildew.
- Estimated to lower your energy bills by 20%.
Have Your Home Air Sealed
Your HVAC system is using energy (and money) to keep your home full of cooled or heated air. Efficiency is all about keeping that energy use as low as possible. And the biggest threat to that? None other than the air from outside!
Air sealing is the method of blocking out cracks and leaks in your home. These leaks can allow air from the outdoors to enter your home, but they can also allow conditioned air to exit the home. Either way, it’s going to cut into your efficiency by forcing your HVAC units to run longer than necessary.
Air sealing requires the proper balance, however. Sealing the home too well will only decrease your indoor air quality. The tools required to do DIY air sealing aren’t hard to find on your own, but we can’t recommend taking this project on for yourself—the experience and knowledge of an expert is necessary to apply just the right amount of sealing.
