Does Insulation Help with Cooling?

If you have experienced challenges in keeping your home comfortable during the summer months in Alexandria VA, then you may be searching for ways to improve your home comfort without spending a lot of money. There are many strategies to consider in addressing your home’s heating and cooling efficiency. Insulation can play an important part in keeping things comfortable.

Insulation and Energy Exchange

If you’ve watched a cold glass of water sweat on a warm day, you’ve observed heat exchange. The temperature of the fluid adapts to that of the room. The fluid gains heat. This is how your home functions as well. While you may not observe the sweating process, you will definitely notice a change in comfort levels on a hot day. The obvious solution is usually to turn on the air conditioner.

Insulation provides a barrier that slows the heat exchange. It keeps the heat from coming in on a warm day and from going out on a cold day. Appropriate amounts of the material will improve conditions in your home by limiting the energy transfer that affects your indoor temperature. Home builders include insulating materials in walls, ceilings and attics. Your HVAC ducts can also be insulated to prevent energy transfer as they carry hot or cold air through your home.

Troubleshooting Energy Efficiency

One of the most common concerns homeowners face related to insulation is whether they have enough. While adding more could improve your indoor efficiency levels and help with your heating and cooling, it’s also important to be sure that there aren’t other sources of trouble. There are a couple of steps you can take to troubleshoot home comfort and high energy bill issues.

Scheduling an energy audit with an HVAC professional is appropriate for addressing your home’s performance overall. Factors taken into consideration will include the efficiency of your HVAC equipment, home sealing and structural issues. Some common findings include:

• Unsealed drafts
• Old equipment
• Unmaintained equipment
• Improper equipment for the house load
• Faulty or imprecise thermostats
• Leaky ducts
• Insufficient insulating material

While an HVAC professional may recommend insulating more extensively, your home comfort problems may be based more on your equipment condition and use.

Preventative Maintenance and Home Comfort

System optimization through preventive care is helpful for pinpointing many of the issues that affect your HVAC performance. A combination of adjustments, cleaning, and diagnostics allows one of the technicians from Brennan’s Heating & Air Conditioning to improve system efficiency, extend the life of equipment, and make relevant suggestions for additional efficiency services.

Cleaning your coils can result in improved performance and lower operating costs. A lack of sufficient refrigerant can keep your air conditioner or heat pump from correctly moderating your home environment. Leaks in your circuit of ducts can cause energy exchange and decrease the effectiveness of your system in heating and cooling. A faulty thermostat can lead to overuse of your equipment. A tune-up is a good first step in improving your HVAC performance.  Give us a call at Brennan’s Heating & Air Conditioning for more information.