Wall insulation is an excellent way to lower your heating bills. You typically have 3 types of insulation materials to choose from – polyurethane foam insulation, urea formaldehyde foam, and blown mineral fiber. The price you pay for these various materials will vary depending on the part of the country in which you live.
Cavity wall insulation can easily be one of the most cost saving measures you can make to your home. The average home owner can cut their cost up to 35% and recover their cost within two years – possibly one. An additional benefit is that it usually helps to sound proof your home from outside noises and disturbances.
In addition to cavity wall insulation, it is also useful to seal window cracks in windows, doors, and the foundation with caulk and other forms of weather stripping.
What’s the first place you should Insulate? Either your loft or attic. Heat rises, so it is not a surprise that most of the heat loss in homes with lofts or attics, takes place there. The simplest method of insulating your attic is to lay insulation materials over the attic floor, between the joists, and over the joists if they are visible. An insulation material with an R-38 rating is best.
Replace your furnace or boiler with an energy efficient one or even one of the solar hot water panels. If your boiler or furnace is near the end of its life span, replacing it with an energy efficient unit can repay its installed cost in three years. The important feature to look for is one with an AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) rating of at least 85%. The higher the AFUE rating the more fuel efficient it is.
These are just some of the simple steps you can make to your home to improve your energy use and cut your energy costs.
Individually, we can’t resolve the energy crisis. But all of us can do our parts by taking these small measures towards reducing our individual energy consumption.
For more simple energy saving tips see pool solar panel addons and solar panels for electricity.
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