You may be familiar with home insulation, but not know its importance. What specific areas of homes should you insulate, and which rooms do not need insulation in Sacramento, CA? Read on to learn more.
Areas of a house that need insulation
Adding insulation material to an existing home or a new build can do wonders for homeowners. An adequate amount of insulation can help you reduce your energy usage and lower your monthly utility bills, as well as create a more comfortable indoor living environment, but you might not be sure where to start. Here’s a look at some of the specific locations of a home where insulation would be greatly beneficial:
- Attic: Insulation experts agree that the attic is the most important space in any house to have insulation installed. This is mostly because heat rises, meaning the attic will hold a lot of the heat generated inside the house. In winter, an uninsulated attic will let the heat escape, so you will see an increase in your energy bills during the cooler months. Blown-in, batt and spray foam insulation are three highly recommended types of insulation for attics.
- Crawlspaces: You can add insulation to both ventilated and unventilated crawlspaces. This is a smart move that saves energy and money on utility bills year-round, as long as the insulation is installed properly. Insulated crawlspaces of all sizes can help retain heat throughout your house, which also prevents pipes and ductwork within crawlspaces from freezing when outdoor temperatures are low.
- Basement: It’s not uncommon for homeowners and builders to overlook adding insulation to a basement. Consider adding insulation to this space because it offers great benefits—it makes the basement a suitable living space and adds square footage to your home. Keep in mind that you can insulate the floors in an unfinished basement as a way to retain the heat inside the home.
- Exterior walls: Adding insulation to the walls of a house can reduce energy consumption and lower your energy bills. Additionally, insulated walls offer a layer of privacy, as they block sound well.
- Flooring: A lot of heat is lost through uninsulated flooring—especially in the case of floors installed over unheated areas like basements or garages. Spray foam, batt or blown-in insulation can help retain the heated and cooled air from your HVAC system, and they help reduce noise.
Areas that don’t need insulation
There are some rooms that do not necessarily need insulation in your Sacramento, CA home: the interior walls. These are the walls that separate the rooms inside your house from one another, but they aren’t hollow. Interior walls have support beams and frames inside, and oftentimes electrical wires or plumbing run through them as well. While it’s fine to not insulate interior walls, insulation can help dampen noise being made in other parts of the house and retain heat in the winter and cool air in the summer, resulting in better overall indoor comfort.
Contact 5 Star Performance Insulation, Inc. in Sacramento, CA today for information about residential or commercial insulation services!