Insulation keeps your home toasty in the winter. However, did you know that insulation is just as important to keep your home cool in the summer? If your home doesn’t have enough insulation, hot air from outside can seep into your home.
Likewise, the cool dehumidified air from your air conditioner will escape outside. To save money on energy bills and stay comfortable year-round, continue reading to learn more about home insulation.
Stay Comfortable Year-Round
Insulation works much like a thermos to keep your home at a pleasant temperature in the winter and summer. If you were to pack a thermos of hot coffee, you would expect it to still be hot when you arrive at work. Likewise, that same thermos filled with ice cubes and water is expected to still be cold hours later. Similar to how a thermos works, insulation can help keep your home warm or cool.
Save Your Air Conditioner
Insulation helps prevent air leakage around windows and through your attic. When your air conditioner doesn’t have to work as hard to cool your home, it lasts longer. We recommend you install enough attic insulation to prevent heat gain and high energy bills in the summer. We offer reputable insulation brands like Hunter, AttiCat®, Atlas EPS, and Dow Building Solutions.
Save Money on Energy Bills
Insulation prevents cool air from escaping your home. What a lot of people don’t realize is that when cool air escapes, it’s replaced with the hot humid air outside. When your heating and cooling system detects an uptick in temperature, it turns on the AC more frequently. Attic insulation will help prevent heat gain through the ceiling and into living areas. Likewise, ceiling insulation can also help your home feel cooler in the summer.
Your air conditioner is able to run much more efficiently when it doesn’t have to battle the effects of poor insulation. If you suspect you don’t have enough insulation in your home, give us a call. We’d be more than happy to steer you toward trusted brands and answer any questions you might have.
Install Foam Board Insulation underneath Siding
Summer is a great time to replace vinyl siding. If you’ve made plans to replace house siding, we recommend asking your contractor if foam board insulation could be installed underneath. Many homes don’t take advantage of foam board insulation, which is a shame because it provides another layer of protection against the winter chill and summer heat. This rigid foam insulation also helps improve the performance of wall insulation by reducing air infiltration.
Caulk around Windows
After you add insulation, be sure to ask about our window caulking products. Many homeowners don’t realize how much air leaks around their windows and contributes to high energy bills. Window caulking is a great way to prevent drafts from seeping into your home.
You’ll want to apply waterproof caulk between the window frame and siding. The caulk will prevent water from seeping into your home, as well as reduce your risk of having mold and wood rot problems in the future. Apply a continuous bead of caulk around the outside borders of your window.
Eikenhout is a building supply company that is dedicated to helping homeowners and contractors find high-quality building products for their next project. If you are interested in our inventory of residential and commercial building supplies, please feel free to call any of our nine Michigan locations.
