Understanding the Role of Insulation in HVAC Efficiency

HVAC services in Puyallup, WA

Your Puyallup, WA, home relies heavily on its HVAC system to remain comfortable all year round. Inefficient equipment can lead to increased heating and cooling bills, decreased indoor air quality, and shorter lifespans. Insulation can enhance the system’s efforts and provide better efficiency and consistent comfort throughout the home.

Preventing Air From Escaping

It’s common for homes to have a lot of gaps and cracks around windows, doors, foundations, etc. These areas may be small, but they can greatly impact the efficiency of your HVAC system. As conditioned air can escape your home and outside air comes in, this can result in your heating and cooling equipment working harder. Not only will this impact the overall comfort of your indoor air, but it will increase your energy consumption. Adding insulation to your home can result in significant savings on your utility bills.

Protecting HVAC Equipment

When your HVAC equipment runs more frequently to keep up with demand, it puts additional wear and tear on your furnace and air conditioner components. This often leads to more frequent repair needs. You may even need to procure a full replacement much sooner than you planned. As HVAC equipment becomes strained and ages, it decreases its overall efficiency.

Your ductwork can also be impacted. Overusing your heating and cooling equipment can damage it, allowing air to escape your ducts before it can enter your living spaces, reducing efficiency even further. Your ductwork, along with other areas of your home, should be insulated. This will promote better system efficiency and ensure consistent comfort throughout your home.

Indoor Air Quality Impact

When your home lacks insulation, the quality of the indoor air can decrease, increasing allergy symptoms, resulting in more frequent asthma attacks, and making you feel unwell. The lack of insulation can also affect the relative humidity inside your home, which impacts comfort and indoor air quality. Humid air can easily hold onto particulate matter, making your home feel uncomfortable and warm.

Upgrading Your Insulation

There are a few different types of insulation that are available if you determine it’s time to upgrade. If you’re on a tight budget, fiberglass batting can be cut and fit into under-insulated areas. Loose fill can be sprayed into tight spaces. For high-quality insulation that is long-lasting and resistant to moisture and mold, consider investing in spray foam insulation. This product gets sprayed into various areas of your home as a liquid material. It will then cure and become a hard insulating material that fills cracks and crevices very well.

If you’re worried about the cost of investing in insulation, tax incentives can often make the process more affordable. Consult a professional for advice.

Pay attention to signs of drafts in your home. Abnormally high energy bills can also indicate poor insulation efficiency. You may also find that you have a hard time maintaining a set temperature. Walk around your home and look for hot or cold spots, air coming in around walls or windows, etc. You can seal small areas that you find with caulk or expanding spray foam. Insulation can be used for larger areas like walls and your attic ceiling.

Understanding R-Value

Insulation is rated using an R-value scale. Insulation with higher R-values provides better insulation and optimal efficiency. The R in R-value stands for resistance. This is the amount of resistance that insulation provides for heat flow. You should consider the R-value of the insulation you’re considering investing in. However, you can combine the R-value for the insulation that you already have in place to achieve a higher number and better efficiency.

Call the Experts for Help

For more information on the role of insulation and how it impacts the efficiency of your HVAC system, Puyallup Heating & Air Conditioning is here to help. We serve clients in Puyallup, WA, and the surrounding areas. In addition, we can also upgrade your current heating and cooling equipment, perform routine maintenance to boost system efficiency, and provide emergency repairs. We can also address indoor air quality problems and work on ductwork design and installation. Customer satisfaction is our top priority on every project.

Contact Puyallup Heating & Air Conditioning in Puyallup today to schedule your appointment with our team!

Tags: ,