Insulation And Sealing Tips To Keep Conditioned Air Inside Your Home

It costs a lot of money and requires ample energy to cool and heat your Southwest Arizona home when outdoor temperatures are less than comfortable. In order for air conditioners and heating systems to do their job, however, it’s imperative to slow the transfer of thermal energy between the inside and outside of your home. This is where insulation and air sealing come into play. Having sufficient insulation, installed properly, will keep warm air from infiltrating your home during the cooling season and warm inside air from escaping in the winter. Sealing air leaks serves a similar purpose.

Use these insulating and air sealing tips and save money on home cooling and heating:

Insulate your attic: We all know that hot air rises. During the heating season, this means that if your attic floor isn’t well sealed and insulated, the warm conditioned air from your home will rise into the attic, making your HVAC equipmeInsulation And Sealing Tips To Keep Conditioned Air Inside Your Homent work harder to compensate. In the summer, attic insulation keeps superheated air in the attic from warming the rest of the house.

Seal your windows with weatherstripping and caulk: Houses breathe through our windows. There’s nothing better than cracking them open for fresh air during the more temperate times of the year. However, loose, leaky or uninsulated windows can cost us comfort in both the warm and cold parts of the year. Sealing your windows with weatherstripping and/or caulk (depending on the situation) will keep your conditioned air where it belongs.

Use curtains and blinds effectively: Long before air conditioners and home heating systems, blinds and window curtains were used to great effect. During winter nights, close curtains to add a layer of insulation and during summer days, do the same to block solar heating. During the day in the winter, open curtains where the rooms face the sun for free solar heating.

Expanding foam seals cracks: Over the years your home will invariably develop cracks and openings where you don’t want them. Use expanding spray foam to close gaps in your home. Check the basement, around doorways, in window frames and on the exterior of your home for places that need an extra layer of defense.

For more information and expert advice on air conditioning and home heating, please contact us at Hansberger Refrigeration & Electric Company today. We provide quality services to Yuma and the surrounding area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Yuma, Arizona about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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