When Should I Update or Remove Home Insulation?

Insulation is not often something that is on the minds of homeowners. Since it is not something you deal with or see on a daily basis, it’s easy to forget all about it. However, insulation is a very important part of your home. Not only does it play a vital role in regulating the temperature of your home (thus affecting your utility bills) it can also affect the air quality in your home. It’s important to know when you should update or possibly even remove your home’s insulation. Ask yourself the following questions to see if you are overdue.

Is your home more than 20 years old?

Although a 20 year old home would still be considered a newer structure, insulation deteriorates a lot faster than your home does. As the insulation ages, it breaks down, which reduces the R-value, which in turn affects how well insulated you home actually is. As the insulation’s R-value decreases, you will likely start to feel a difference in the temperature control in your home. If you have noticed that your home is chillier in the winter and hotter in the summer, chances are your insulation is due for an update.

Have you had any fire or water damage?

After a fire or severe water damage, you have a lot of repairs and restoration work to worry about. Of course you’ll want to work on cosmetics and making your home livable again, but it is important not to forget about the affect the damage may have caused to your insulation. During a fire, smoke works its way through your home and sinks into surfaces and materials. Insulation is not immune to this! The smoke may have seeped its way into your insulation, which means the pollutants from the smoke are buried inside your insulation and circulating through your home via your HVAC system.

Water damage can be even more detrimental to your insulation. Once the water gets inside the insulation, it can create mold. Mold breeds rapidly, so it will spread through the insulation and then into your home’s heating and cooling system. Breathing in the toxins from mold can cause serious health issues such as chronic bronchitis, lung infections, and several other serious breathing complications.

Have you had problems with rodents recently?

Fiberglass is the most common type of insulation. It is also a favorite nesting ground for many rodents. Rodents and other vermin will burrow into the insulation and live inside of it. If you have had issues with unwanted visitors in your home, you should have your insulation inspected to make sure they are truly gone and not living inside your walls. A great way to avoid dealing with this issue in the future is to upgrade to the cellulose insulation. It is not much more expensive and it is made with pesticides that irritate rodent’s skin, making it an unpleasant place to live.

If you answered yes to any of these questions, it is highly recommended that you have your insulation inspected for any damage that could be affecting your insulation’s effectiveness as well as the air quality in your home. Take a look at our online quote calculator and get a quote within 5 minutes.

What is R Value?

The term “R value” gets thrown around a lot when discussing construction, building materials, heating and cooling systems, and insulation. Everyone loves to tell you about their R Value, but if you don’t know what it means, what good is that information to you? Allow us to explain.

Quick definition

R value is a measurement of thermal resistance or heat transfer. The higher R value a building has, the more resistant it will be to heat flow. Building materials such as metal or glass have a low R value, while insulation has a much higher value.

Why should I be concerned about R Value?

As the definition states, the higher R value your home has, the more resistant it is to heat flow. Basically, a higher R value means better temperature regulation in your home and thus lower utility bills. Sadly, many builders only meet the bare minimum, so while they may try to impress you by throwing out arbitrary numbers, it’s important to recognize the difference between “standard procedure” R value and optimal R value.

How is R Value calculated?

R value is calculated based on the material. For insulation, the calculations are as follows:

Cellulose: 3.5 per inch

Fiberglass: 2.8 per inch

Rockwool: 3.2 per inch

Vermicullite: 2.7 per inch.

So, if you have 10 inches of fiberglass, you have an R value of 28.

So what’s a good R value?

The “bare minimum” R value is R 38. However, based on our experience, we have found that most homes are only working with R 15. Sadly, neither of these values are what would be considered optimal. The optimal value varies by location, but in the St. Louis area, the recommended R value for optimal performance is between R45 and R60.

Chances are your home was built with the bare minimum and has since deteriorated down to R15 or lower. By bringing your R value up to optimal performance standards, you will be enhancing your home’s ability to regulate temperature, which means much lower utility bills and a more comfortable home.

Still not sure? Take a look at our online quote calculator and get a quote within 5 minutes. No obligation, just information!

Is Do-It-Yourself Attic Insulation a Good Idea?

If you’ve decided to tackle your attic insulation issues to save money on your heating and cooling costs, you’re on the right track. Attics are very connected to your home and are often to blame for excess energy loss that ends up costing you more money on your utility bills.

Should I try DIY Attic Insulation or hire a professional?

There are plenty of people out there who are perfectly capable of fixing things around the house. When it comes to repairing a broken door hinge or fixing a leaky faucet, there is nothing wrong with doing it yourself. However, when the leak you are fixing is related you’re your insulation, the process can become a little more complicated. You’ll need to do an energy audit to figure out just how efficient or inefficient your current insulation installation is, check all your window and door seals, and perhaps even investigate the possibility of your insulation pumping polluted air into your home.

Tricky for you, business as usual for us

 

All of those steps can be difficult and a bit daunting for even the most seasoned do-it-yourselfers, but we here at Affordable Comfort are experienced experts. We’ve been in this business since 1993. We know exactly where to look and what to look for when it comes to the analysis process of installing attic insulation. We can streamline the process and have your new insulation installed in as little as one day. That’s right, one day and you’ll be on your way to lower utility costs, a greener home, and cleaner air.

What about the costs?

If you are worried about the cost of hiring a professional to take care of your insulation woes, we can help. You can use our Online Audit Calculator and get a dollar amount within minutes. All you need to do is answer a few questions and you’ll have your quote without having to deal with any pushy salesmen. If you decide to go forward with your insulation installation, all you have to do is submit your quote to us at the end of the calculation and we’ll get in touch with you right away. So why go through the hassle of trying to do it yourself when we can make it so easy? Get your quick quote right now!

Is the Heat Wave Making You Wonder about Air Conditioner’s Efficiency?

Now that summer is at its peak, it’s hard to catch a break from the heat. Many homes have rooms that never seem to get cool, no matter how low you set your thermostat. You might set your thermostat as low as 72 but never see the temperature drop below 78. Meanwhile, your AC is running continuously and driving up your utility bill costs.  There are several explanations for why this might be happening. If your home is 1 ½-2 stories, you’ve got lots of crawl space and garage area soaking up your cool air. You might also have windows that lack shading, allowing the sun to pour in and heat up your home. It’s also possible that your HVAC system is unbalanced, which results in inconsistent temperatures throughout your living space, creating hot spots that never seem to get cool.

 

So what can you do to stay cool without going broke?

The root of the problem is often in your home’s insulation. We here at Affordable Comfort have worked with customers throughout the St. Louis area to inspect their current insulation and create a solution that results in cooler home and lower utility bills.  We’ve seen excellent results with our hybrid system. Just take a look at some quotes from our happy customers:

“We used to set our thermostat at 73 and the house never got cooler than 78. Now we have it set at 72 and it stays there 24 hours a day with a/c unit cycling normally.” – O’Fallon Homeowner

“An unexpected benefit (beyond the obvious energy savings) was sound control. We had a major thunderstorm the first night and we did not even hear it.” – Cottleville homeowner

“The temperature stats the same throughout the house upstairs and down.” – Cottleville homeowner

 So if you’re ready to fight back against the heat wave in your home, just take a look at our easy online quotation calculator. Within 5 minutes, you’ll have a quote for your home and be well on your way to a cooler summer.