An attic can be a great bonus or focal point when buying or selling a home. The extra space, potential living space, and aesthetic value can easily transform a simple house into a real home. But unless it’s properly insulated, you could also expect future headaches. Attic insulation can provide a range of benefits. But what are they?
Energy Savings
According to the Energy Information Administration, projected electrical costs nationwide are expected to rise slowly over the next several years. However, utility costs rose a whopping 14.3% between 2021 and 2022. That’s double the amount of inflation. Any type of consistent cost-reduction effort can lead to significant savings. Insulating your attic can help reduce the heat that escapes from your home during the winter, and keep your home cooler in the summer, which can easily lower your heating and cooling bills.
Increased Comfort
If your home is drafty or regularly fluctuates in temperature, it could be due to the need for proper insulation in your attic. Heat rises, and it can easily escape through an uninsulated room or attic. By reducing heat transfer, insulation can help keep your home at a more consistent temperature, eliminating hot and cold spots and improving overall comfort. While cool air doesn’t rise as significantly, it can still escape if insulation isn’t intact.
Reduced Noise
Unless you live in the middle of the woods in complete silence, chances are outdoor noises have bothered someone in your home. Traffic, road construction, line workers, airplanes, and even neighbors playing music or hosting seasonal barbecues can affect you inside your own home. Insulation can also help reduce outside noise by absorbing those sound waves, making your home quieter and more peaceful.
Extended Roof Life
Winter in the Midwest is especially rough on homes. The weight of accumulated snow can cause materials to shift and bow, but the snow alone isn’t the worst part–it’s the ice. As the snow melts and re-accumulates, the water thaws and refreezes. Without proper insulation and roof repairs, that water can seep beneath your external materials. That ice then forms and expands inside your home. Once the ice melts, guess where it drips and collects? Inside your home. That can lead to all sorts of other problems, including decay, pests, and mold. Insulation helps regulate the temperature in your attic, which can prevent ice dams from forming on your roof during the winter, reducing the risk of roof damage.
Better Indoor Air Quality
According to the EPA, Americans spend approximately 90% of their time indoors. And indoor air pollution can be up to 5 times worse than outdoor pollution concentrations. Insulation can help prevent moisture buildup in your attic, which can reduce the risk of mold and mildew growth and improve indoor air quality.
Environmentally friendly insulation doesn’t just reduce energy costs. Insulating your home is an environmentally friendly choice as it reduces the amount of energy required to heat or cool your home, thus reducing carbon emissions and your environmental footprint. Be sure to contact Modern Pros when you’re ready to get a quote for attic insulation.