What To Expect From An Insulation Upgrade

You’re considering investing in new insulation for your home. The only problem is that you aren’t sure if the investment will be worthwhile. What changes can you expect to see and feel if you splurge on spray foam insulation?

South Central Services has insulated hundreds of new and existing homes with spray foam. While starting with premium insulation in a new house may seem ideal, homeowners who upgrade their insulation experience the significant changes that upgrade brings. When moving from minimal insulation to spray foam, several benefits follow.

By the end of this article, you will understand:

• Why spray foam insulation is an upgrade
• How spray foam can lower energy costs
• How spray foam makes homes more comfortable
• How spray foam improves air quality

Insulation Upgrades Should Deliver R-Value And An Airtight Seal.

If you're planning to replace your insulation, consider an insulation upgrade. As long as you're getting new insulation, you may as well invest in better, longer-lasting insulation.

Spray foam insulation is considered a premium insulation because it outperforms traditional insulations. Products like fiberglass batts are called good insulating materials because of their R-value. R-value, or resistance value, is the primary way insulating ability is measured. A material with a high R-value resists conductive heat transfer well.

The problem is that heat travels through the air, as well. R-value doesn't indicate anything about resisting convective and radiant heat transfer. Spray foam insulation delivers a high R-value and creates an airtight seal. Spray foam also prevents heat infiltration by preventing air infiltration.

If you replace your insulation based on R-value alone, you will not see significant changes in your energy costs or comfort. Air will leak, allowing conditioned air to leave your home and outside temperatures to impact your inside environment.

By upgrading to spray foam insulation, you can secure a high R-value, an airtight seal, and a permanent insulation. This will be the last upgrade you will need, as spray foam should last for the lifetime of your home and deliver consistent results.

Upgrading To Spray Foam Insulation Will Lower Your Energy Costs.

You would never run your air conditioning if your windows were also open. All the cool air your HVAC system produces would leave through the open window. Trying to maintain a cool temperature would require double the energy, which would increase your energy costs.

You may also know the phrase, "We're not paying to heat the world." You want your home to be comfortable and probably wish it was more affordable to stay comfortable inside.

With traditional insulation, countless gaps allow air to infiltrate your home. You can't see all the gaps and cracks where the air exchange happens. However, that doesn't stop the fact that the air you pay to condition is sneaking outside your home.

You experience the effects of these air leaks most during the summer and winter. Your energy bills are highest when the disparity between inside and outside temperatures is highest, too.

These air leaks are sealed off if you upgrade to spray foam insulation. Its airtight seal prevents outside air from infiltrating and inside air from escaping. It might seem like a small change since we can't visualize all these air leakage areas. However, just like a leaky faucet can significantly impact your water bill, a leaky home does the same. When these air leaks are addressed, your energy costs drop dramatically.

How much you will save depends on where your insulation is upgraded and how big a change is made.

For example, suppose you have an uninsulated attic, and you upgrade to spray foam. Your energy costs will likely drop by 30% to 70% when moving from no insulation to premium insulation. A crawl space encapsulation has a smaller impact on your energy costs but can still make a dent of 20% to 40%.

Your HVAC System Can Benefit From A Spray Foam Insulation Upgrade, Too.

Not only will a spray foam upgrade lower your energy costs, but your HVAC system will also experience other positive side effects.

For example, one natural consequence of your HVAC system running less often is less wear and tear on the machinery. An upgrade to spray foam can extend the lifetime of your HVAC system components.

Upgrading to spray foam can even make downsizing your HVAC an option for your home. When you upgrade to spray foam, your home takes fewer BTUs of energy to heat and cool. HVACs designed for more BTUs become unnecessary. Smaller HVAC systems are also less costly to run.

Upgrading To Spray Foam Insulation Will Make Your Home More Comfortable.

You already know that wasting energy is expensive. However, you might not have considered how energy waste makes your home uncomfortable to live in.

Think of your home in the winter. In south central Pennsylvania, outside temperatures hover around freezing. Depending on the month, the temperature will dip above or below. Slightly above freezing is uncomfortable, so you set your thermostat to a reasonable temperature.

When your HVAC system pops on, it has to overshoot by a few degrees to reach that temperature. As it generates hot air and pumps it through your vents, the conditioned air is drawn to the cold air outside. Without an airtight seal, it slips right out.

While the furnace is on, you may be comfortable for a few minutes. However, as soon as the furnace clicks off, the heat begins to dissipate. It is replaced with cold outside air. The temperature drops and drops until the furnace has to kick on again.

As the HVAC runs constantly and tries to maintain a temperature, you exist in a window of 8 to 10 degrees. The temperature cycles up and down, landing very briefly on the temperature you set the thermostat to.

A similar phenomenon occurs in the summertime. Heat from your attic presses into your living space. In a two-story house, this often means that your second floor is unbearably hot and your first floor is comfortable. No matter how hard your HVAC system works, it cannot regulate your home's temperature and make everything comfortable. There is too much hot air infiltration.

When you install spray foam insulation, you stop air infiltration. In the summer, the attic heat doesn't affect your living space. In the winter, heat doesn't escape outside and isn't replaced by bone-chilling from a crawl space. Your HVAC system can focus on maintaining a temperature instead of chasing after a temperature.

Your home becomes like a bubble. If you set the thermostat, it kicks on, reaches the temperature, and stays there.

Upgrading To Spray Foam Insulation Can Improve Your Indoor Air Quality.

Air quality is a surprising benefit of spray foam insulation that most homeowners don't think of. You might only consider how your insulation affects the air you breathe if you're concerned about air quality.

Your air quality is a joint venture between insulation and HVAC. Since spray foam can deliver an airtight seal, it prevents allergens, dirt, and VOCs from entering your home. However, your indoor air quality still has to be monitored. The right HVAC equipment, such as an HRV or ERV, can handle indoor air pollution.

One example of a spray foam upgrade that can have a substantial impact on air quality is crawl space encapsulation.

Without encapsulation, the air of your crawl space mingles and exchanges with the air in your living space. Crawl spaces are often home to excess humidity, mildew, and pests. You do not want to breathe in that filthy air.

By encapsulating your crawl space, you create an airtight seal in the walls and rim joists. Any air that exchanges between your living space and crawl space is dry, clean, and conditioned.

The Bottom Line About How A Spray Foam Upgrade Will Benefit You

Spray foam insulation has three primary benefits: energy efficiency, comfort, and air quality. If you upgrade your insulation to spray foam, you can expect to receive all three of these benefits to some degree.

Because spray foam insulation can air-seal your home, it can prevent dirty, hot, and humid air from exchanging in your home. This means less wasted energy, lower energy costs, and a more comfortable living environment.

Now that you understand what to expect from a spray foam upgrade, your next step is to:

• Learn more about the relationship between insulation and HVAC
• Discover whether or not homes can have too much insulation
• Hear why homeowners trust South Central Services for their insulation upgrades