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Spray foam insulation is becoming a more popular choice among those looking to regulate heat in their homes and protect against air leaks. The application process initiates a chemical reaction, causing the plastic polyurethane foam to expand into the areas it is meant to insulate, which creates a perfect seal in those areas.

Varieties

There are three main varieties of spray foam insulation. In order to choose the right variety, builders consider the type of structure to be insulated, the project budget, and the humidity and weather patterns of the location. Low-density foam is often applied in attics without venting or internal spaces. Medium-density foam is also sometimes used for attics without venting or internal spaces, as well as uninterrupted lengths of insulation. High-density foam is primarily used with roofs and external areas. How the foam is applied also makes a difference; for example, foam can be applied with varying levels of pressure for different effects.

Benefits

Spray foam is superior to other kinds of insulation when it comes to sealing small openings and cracks. It effortlessly works its way into the tiniest of spaces, creating an airtight seal. Eliminating air leaks makes a big impact on home energy efficiency. Keeping warm air in and cold air out (or vice versa in summertime) as effectively as possible also helps reduce energy bills.

While air leaks can be a nuisance, water leaks are a nightmare. Damage from moisture or flooding in the house can be devastatingly expensive to fix. Using spray foam to seal and insulate openings in the attic, basement and anywhere else moisture attempts to creep in can save a homeowner from the huge cost of repairing damage done by water. The foam acts as an impenetrable barrier to moisture and does not absorb it. The chemical structure of spray foam also deters the growth of mold and mildew.

In addition to its exceptional capabilities as an insulator and sealant, spray foam insulation also lasts longer than many other types of insulation. For a homeowner, it is a wise investment to make.

Your home should be a place of peace and quiet when you need it to be. If you have a lot of outside noise coming in, then you may feel uncomfortable or stressed. These sounds can consist of the creaking of an older house, traffic or nearby businesses. If you don’t feel as secure as you could in your home due to unwanted noise, soundproofing may be a good option. Here are some tips on how to soundproof your home.

First, you’ll want to consider your doors and your walls. If you want a soundproof home, you’ll want solid, thick walls that can block out sound. You can also look into blownin insulation which will keep noise from entering through any gaps in the walls. Keep in mind that any small space can allow a lot of noise to enter.

Second, you may want to look at your windows. If they’re older windows, then you’re going to want to look into a replacement. Nowadays, windows are made of better materials that can help keep any unwanted noise out. You don’t want to forget about your windows when you’re soundproofing.

Of course, you can also do a little bit of home maintenance to make sure that your home is as quiet as you like it. This means treating any squeaky hinges or looking for a cause to any creaking floors. Blownin insulation isn’t the only way to ensure that your home is a quiet, peaceful place.

Most people don’t want to have to deal with a lot of noise coming from the outside. You should be able to control what you hear within your own home. Fortunately, there are many ways to handle soundproofing. Many of which are easy and inexpensive. Walls and windows are often the major culprits in letting sound in, so make sure that your walls are insulated and that your windows are up to date.

Insulation is a key player in keeping your home energy efficient and comfortable all year long by trapping in the heat in the winter and the cool air in the summer. However as soon as your insulation begins to fail, gaps and cracks form allowing that precious heat or cool air to escape. To determine if your insulation needs replacing look for these signs:

High Energy Bills

If your insulation is beginning to fail, it is letting air out of your home envelope, creating more work for your furnace and air conditioning systems. This inefficiency will leave your home a little less comfortable and your wallet a little thinner.

Start by looking a recent energy bills. Do you see a slow rise over the past few months? This may indicate that your insulation is becoming less and less effective as it wears over time and that your heating and A/C systems are working much harder to keep your home at a comfortable temperature.

Compare your current energy bills with last year’s bills in the same time frame so that you know whether it’s the energy usage itself that’s making your bills go up or just a fluctuation in energy prices.

Wear and Tear

Another indicator that’s easy to measure when assessing your insulation is just looking and feeling. Insulation should feel soft and malleable. If it crunches and crumbles, then it may be time to think about replacing. It’s especially important to assess wear and tear in your basement insulation. If there has been a lot of snow melt or rainfall, it’s likely that your insulation got wet and could be molding.

Pest Problems

Pests in your home are another catalyst to wearing down your insulation. If you’ve had a pest problem recently, it is important to check the insulation for eggs as well as spots where the insulation has been eaten through.

These signs of wear and tear may seem trivial now, but if not taken care of can cause many problems down the road.  For a professional insulation inspection, repair and replacement give us a call at Green Comfort Solutions.  We’re happy to make the appropriate recommendations for your home to make it a more efficient and comfortable place for you and your family. Call us or click here for a quote!

Spray foam insulation, properly known as closed-cell spray polyurethane foam, has made its mark on the insulation industry and proponents say there’s no better material for sealing your home from unwanted air and moisture. In some cases spray foam can be applied to the inside of roofs and under floors in existing homes and, of course, it can be used in a new addition. Trying to decide if spray foam is the right insulation for your home? Here are six reasons to strongly consider this insulation material.

The Benefits Of Spray Foam Insulation:

1. An Air & Moisture Barrier

Moisture can’t soak its way through polyurethane spray foam’s closed cell structure the way it can fiberglass and cellulose. Spray foam acts as an effective air barrier that puts an end to energy lost due to air infiltration—drafts through walls sockets, windows and doorways that can account for up to 40 percent of a home’s energy loss. By sealing the stud and wall cavities from end to end and top to bottom, spray foam closes all the gaps.

2. More Comfort With Less Cost

The R value (a sign of insulation’s ability to retain heat) is higher in spray foam than in traditional products because it provides a no-leak seal and is very dense. That means your home is more comfortable and less expensive to heat in the winter and cool in the summer. Another bonus: Demands on HVAC equipment won’t be as great.

3. One Step Results

Spray foam seals and insulates in one step, and it stays in place because of its adhesive qualities. Though often used as an air-sealing treatment step before filling an attic with blow-in insulation for instance, used in larger amounts, it can eliminate the need for a second type of insulation.

4. Adds Strength To Your Structure

Spray foam is permanent, seamless and virtually sag-proof, so it adds to your building’s stability. Once the foam cures, it’s not going to settle or shift.

5. A Mold, Dust & Pollen Barrier

Mold and mildew can’t get a foothold because of the spray foam’s moisture barrier. Closing up gaps means that other nuisances, like dust, pollen and other irritants and allergens, can’t get into your home through cracks.

6. A Sound Barrier

Spray foam also has sound reduction properties to make your home acoustically tighter, with less noise able to travel from room to room.

To learn more about spray foam insulation or if you’re ready to get it installed in your home, give us a call or click here for a quote! At Green Comfort Solutions we can provide the best advice and installation services to meet your home’s specific needs.

There are several reasons why many homeowners make home energy efficiency a key focus of their maintenance and improvement projects; it can reduce utility bills substantially and make the indoor living environment a more comfortable place to be – as well as contributing to the protection of natural resources. Numerous elements impact home efficiency; from quality of windows, siding, and insulation, to the rating on appliances such as washers, dryers, and refrigerators, but air sealing happens to be one of the most fundamental and essential aspects to focus on for an overall reduction of power consumption.

Gaps and cracks can form in several areas of the home. These openings allow hot or cold air to flow in from the outside, often causing the need to use more energy in order to keep the indoor temperature at a comfortable level. Some of the key zones to check for incoming air include door and window frames, outlets and switches, chimney flashing, recessed lighting, water and furnace flutes, and all ducts, as well as all plumbing and utility accesses. For homes with an attic, the entrance to this room of the house could be a prime candidate for air sealing; attics are usually not temperature controlled, and air that leaks from them into the living space can have a big impact on the indoor climate.

Where gaps and cracks let air in, the solution is to insulate and close. The type of insulation or sealant used depends on the area and feature being treated. For example, a different kind of material is required to seal ducts than would be used to close up gaps in window frames. In a home that has many leaks, finding only a few and closing them can reduce the problem, but it does not eliminate it.

Due to the complexity of air sealing a home, it’s best to rely on the professionals. At Green Comfort Home Energy Solutions, we can provide the right insulation fixes for your home and budget, making your home more energy efficient. To get started call us or click here for a quote.

There may be more energy-efficient insulation choices available than fiberglass insulation, but it is the material that is used most often because it offers several attractive benefits, including ease of installation, high affordability, and the fact that it is so readily available. Since it first arrived on the market back in 1938 as a home insulation option, fiberglass has dominated its industry. Builders and homeowners continue to choose it because of the way it simplifies the job for them – they find that it allows them to get the job done faster and within budget. However, there are a few things those who opt for this type of insulation may want to consider.

A high level of skill is required in order to install fiberglass insulation in such a way that it provides maximum performance; even the smallest error can substantially reduce the protection granted. When the installation is done perfectly, air leaks may still occur, as this material was not designed to prevent them. Supplemental protection can be used to further hinder the flow of outdoor air into a home. The lifespan of the insulation depends on its quality and the skill by which it was installed as well as the preferences of the property owner or resident; those who seek enhanced energy efficiency may opt to have this material replaced sooner. Water damage and mold infestation are also factors which can reduce how long it lasts.

If your home has fiberglass insulation and you find yourself spending too much on heating and cooling, or if the walls of your home have been damaged by water or mold, then it may be time to have it replaced. Where the cost of materials is a concern, fiberglass remains the home insulation option of choice. In order to get the best performance, you want have the work done by a reputable specialist.

For fiberglass installation and replacement give us a call at Green Comfort Solutions. If you’re ready to switch to a different insulation we can also make the best recommendations for your home as well as provide the installation you need. Call us or click here for a quote.

As the temperatures slowly start to drop and you begin to turn up the heat, it’s a good time to make sure that your home is performing well in terms of energy efficiency. However, how can this be done? While there are steps you can take on your own to do an energy check, we recommend scheduling a home energy audit with a professional, which will save you money in the long run.

A home energy audit points out ways to upgrade or modify your home. Think of the audit as a checklist of to-do’s that you then have to do. The recommended improvements may cost you money upfront, but the bottom line is lowering your utility bills while increasing comfort.

What You Can Do To Start

If you suspect a problem or just want to upgrade the efficiency of your living space, there are simple steps you can do on your own. In the winter, go room-by-room inside your home and use your hands to feel for cold spots, signs that indicate air leaks, missing insulation and areas that could use an air vent to bring heat from your system into that space.

Some are obvious, like the drafts you feel around doors and windows. Others are hidden and need to be addressed by a professional in a careful diagnostic process. These unseen leaks are far more serious because there are more of them. Most occur at the top and bottom joints of your house, but here are other areas that need air sealing:

• Your attic hatch
• Plumbing vents
• Wiring holes
• Around canister lighting
• Furnace flue
• False ceilings

To drill down further, you’ll want to work with a professional home energy auditor or rater. A rater should do a very thorough evaluation that includes sophisticated equipment and techniques, specifically a calibrated blower door to expose air leaks in your building envelope and an infrared camera to make it easier for the auditor to see them.

An indoor survey is more accurate than one done outdoors, so schedule it when this is possible. In fact, time of year is a crucial factor in deciding when to have the audit done—the infrared system works best when there is the greatest difference in temperature between the air inside your home and the outside air. In northern regions, choose a dead-of-winter date when you’d have the heat cranked up; in southern regions, go for one of the dog days of summer when you’re blasting the A/C. Also pick a day when you can be home for the audit—the auditor should ask you many questions about your home and habits.

At Green Home Comfort we can provide home energy assessments and insulation assessments to make your home a more energy efficient structure. For a consultation give us a call or click here for a quote!