How Does Insulation Affect Your HVAC System’s Performance?
When it comes to your heating and cooling systems, you want to do everything possible to keep your utility bills under control. The more efficiently your system operates, the lower your bills will be. One significant factor that can impact the performance of your HVAC system is your home’s insulation. Here is how insulation enhances HVAC performance.
What Is Household Insulation?
Insulation is a material designed to reduce heat transfer between your home and the outdoors. It can be made of various materials, including natural fibers, glass, plastic, and recycled paper. Insulation is essential in your exterior walls, crawlspace, between each floor level, and attic. Consider it a barrier that helps retain heat inside your home during the winter and keeps cool air in during the summer.
Better Control Indoor Temperature
One of the biggest challenges affecting your HVAC system’s performance is varying temperatures. For instance, if your heating system generates warmth but your home continues to lose that heat, you’ll experience uncomfortable temperature fluctuations. Your heating system will have to run constantly to maintain your desired temperature setting. Insulation can help minimize these temperature variations.
Excessive Wear and Tear Prevention
When your heating or cooling system has to run continuously to meet your household temperature demands, it can negatively affect its internal components. This can lead to more frequent breakdowns, more heating and cooling repairs, and a significantly shorter lifespan. Ensuring adequate insulation in your home helps to retain more of your cool or warm air, depending on the season. As a result, your HVAC system will have shorter run times, which can actually prolong its overall lifespan.
Enhance Indoor Air Quality
One lesser-known way insulation can impact your HVAC system is through its overall effect on indoor air quality. When your home lacks sufficient insulation, unwanted airborne pollutants, such as pollen and dust, can enter the indoor air. Since your HVAC system filters all the air in your home, its filter will bear the brunt of these airborne toxins.
You’ll notice that your HVAC filter requires more frequent changes. If you don’t keep up with these changes, your HVAC system will operate inefficiently. This can result in a less comfortable indoor temperature, exposure to contaminants for those who struggle with respiratory and allergy issues, and higher energy bills.
How To Know What Insulation You Need
The building code in your area will outline the minimum R-value your home’s insulation must have. It’s best to choose insulation that either meets or exceeds the recommended value. This insulation will help ensure that your HVAC system functions optimally and that your home’s ambient temperature is comfortable for you and your family.
Types of Household Insulation
There are four main types of insulation that you can purchase for your home. The specific type you choose will depend on your budget and the application’s area. Blanket insulation is the most common for walls and ceilings because it comes in large batt rolls that can be snuggly placed between building studs.
Foam board insulation, also known as rigid panel insulation, offers a high resistance to heat transfer at a premium price. It can be cut to size for application anywhere. Spray foam insulation is another option ideal for hard-to-reach locations and irregular spaces. Loose-fill insulation, also known as blown-in insulation, easily forms in the location it’s blown into. This offers superior coverage and can be ideal for adding to existing layers of old insulation to make them more effective.
Other Tips for Boosting HVAC Performance
While ensuring that your insulation is appropriate for your area of the county will greatly enhance the overall operating efficiency of your HVAC system, there are other things you can do. Another important one is to get annual maintenance service from a professional technician on your AC and heating system and change your air filters regularly when necessary.
Honest and Reliable HVAC Services
Breeze Air Conditioning provides HVAC services for the Palm Desert, CA area. We can also help with all your installation, repair, and maintenance needs for furnaces, heat pumps, ductless mini-split systems, and air conditioning. Additionally, we offer indoor air quality services, including the installation and repair of air purifiers and humidifiers. Our technicians are NATE certified, our company is a Carrier Factory Authorized Dealer, and we have been recognized as a Nextdoor Neighborhood Fave. Simply call us today to schedule your next HVAC service consultation.
Tags: HVAC Maintenance, HVAC Tips