Many people think about insulation as something that is associated with cold weather, reducing drafts and keeping your house warmer during the brutal Michigan winters. But, insulation plays a big role in protecting your home and improving your comfort in the warmer seasons as well – insulation is not just for the winter! In fact, a significant chunk of your energy savings comes from avoiding the use of air conditioning in the summer with a properly insulated house.
Keeping Your Home Cool
It’s hard to imagine right now, but it does get hot enough to need air conditioning in Michigan. Without insulation in your attic, crawlspace and walls, the cold air that is so expensive to make, can leak through. A properly insulated house can cause the air conditioner to cycle 30% less often, causing a significant reduction in your electric bill.
Keeping Your Home Dry
When the weather warms up, the humidity increases as well. If your home is not insulated correctly, humid air can infiltrate your house and water can condense where you don’t want it. This can lead to mold and mildew in places that you don’t even see until it’s too late. Insulation keeps that humidity out and ensures your home stays dry.
Protects Your Roof
Insulation with a proper vapor barrier helps to keep your attic space dry. During home inspections, one of the most common issues in attics are when the inspector sees rusted roof nails or wet spots near the nails. This means that the ventilation, insulation and vapor barrier are not up to snuff in that attic. There is moist air, coming from the living space, settling in the attic long enough to condense against the roof deck. This leads to premature roof failure, mold and mildew in the attic and visible leaks on your drywall.
Attic Can Perform as Intended
You want your attic to be as close to the outside air conditions as possible. This lets your roof perform as well as it can, so it does not have a hot side and cold side. When this happens, you get ice dams, condensation, rust and shingle failure. Without adequate insulation in the summer, the cold air will leak from your living space, making your attic vastly different from the outside air temperature. This is where ventilation plays a large role as well – ventilation helps move the cold out in the summer and moves the heat out in the winter.
Understanding that insulation plays a huge role in protecting your home in the warmer months in addition to the winter shouldn’t be a huge surprise to you. Hopefully, it can help you understand that a small investment into proper insulation and ventilation can result in large annual payoffs in the form of reduced energy bills and increased comfort.
If you would like more information about insulation for your attic, walls or crawlspace, or have questions in general, don’t hesitate to call for a free estimate at 888-776-1998 or visit our estimate page to request an appointment.