Why Insulation is a Good Investment

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Why Insulation is a Good Investment

Investing in products to make homes more energy efficient pays significant dividends over a lifetime =97 with none of the wild fluctuations of Wall Street. Insulation contributes to:

- Greater comfort

- Even temperature distribution

- Improved acoustics

- Better moisture control, which can reduce floor squeaks, drywall cracks, structure damage and condensation

- Potential for increased resale value: Installing proper insulation levels can also make your home more attractive to potential buyers. In fact, most buyers list energy-efficiency as a prime consideration. The reason? Buyers know they can buy a more expensive home if heating and cooling bills can be kept down.

- A more environmentally friendly home

- Lower energy bills* Unless your home was constructed with special attention to energy efficiency, adding insulation will probably reduce your utility bills.

- 60% of the existing homes in the United States are not insulated to the best level.

- According toa study done by Harvard University's School of Public Health, 60% of the exising homes are likely to use more energy than newer homes, leading to very high heating and air-conditioning bills.

- Even if you own a new home, adding insulation may save enough money in reduced utility bills to pay for itself within a few years and will continue to save you money for as long as you own the home.*

Source:

[Sjouke Burry]

cut Hmm, in my country there are lots of problems with insulated houses, mostly in the new ones. People get what they call the office syndrome, coming from fungi and bacteria loving those nice ventilation systems that cant be cleaned inside,and all the dead spaces without ventilation. Some new houses are without windows you can open, because that interferes with those modern ventilation systems. Also problems with too low or too high moisture, stuffy atmosphere, and other ailments which have no simple cause.

So your statements seem to me a bit optimistic. In my (old, 1935) house the double glazing was the best thing in comfort improvement(and it saves me money :) . But I have not started to hunt for small leaks, they make sure that the atmosphere stays healthy. house

[clare]

Insulation in itself does NOT reduce the air change rate of a house significantly - unless it is sprayed foam or similar. Making a house TOO tight can definitely cause problems - but a reasonably well insulated house IS more comfortable, due to better temperature distribution and can definitely help reduce damp related issues by keeping moisture from condensing on abnormally cold surfaces.

It also reduces both heating and cooling costs and makes the house quieter.

The most important insulation is what you put in the attic/roof area. Even if you don't insulate the walls, insulate the attic.