With the rising utility bills and maintenance costs, most homeowners have started taking measures to make their home energy-efficient so as to reduce their expenses. An easy way to save costs as well as reduce energy consumption is to install insulation at home. Insulation makes a home energy efficient by conserving energy by restricting heat flow.
Majority of the energy used at homes is for heating and cooling purposes, for maintaining optimum temperature within the house. However, in the absence of proper insulation, the cooling or heating is not effective; as a result of which more energy is consumed for maintaining desired temperature. Insulation helps in restricting heat flow, thereby keeping house warm during winters and cool during summers. Consequently, the electrical devices are less used for temperature adjustment, which saves both electricity and money.
There are different types of insulation materials available in the market, such as fiberglass, cellulose, and mineral wool, among others. These materials can be installed in different forms like loose-fill, rigid fibrous, concrete block and batt insulation. While choosing an appropriate insulation form and material, there are certain things that need to be considered. You need to determine, where you want to install insulation and the recommended R-values. For example,
batt insulation is recommended for the unfinished walls, ceilings and floors. In case you wish to insulate the enclosed existing wall or an unfinished attic floor, then the 2lb foam should be applied to achieve the desired R-value.
Installation of insulation will not only help make the house comfortable year round, but also save money. You can get financial incentives like the
PSE Rebate on increasing the energy efficiency of your home. The Puget Sound Energy or PSE Rebate offer simple funding to make your home more energy efficient by installing insulation. You can get PSE Rebate of 50% up to $400 for floor insulation, $200 for duct insulation, and $400 for attic insulation. You can also get PSE Rebate of 50% up to $400 for wall insulation and $200 for repairing leaks in the duct. Apart from insulation, the PSE Rebate is also available for purchasing energy-efficient appliances like ENERGY STAR qualified heating system. These rebates offset the cost of installing insulation and purchasing energy-efficient electric appliances.
Hence, using these simple measures can make your home energy efficient and save you significant amount of money.
