(ARA) - Last year's soaring
energy bills left many homeowners with empty pocketbooks. Increasing
natural gas prices and electricity shortages occurred with little
warning. Protect yourself from skyrocketing bills by making your home
more energy efficient.
Most homes can become more
energy efficient in both the summer and the winter just by adding a
little insulation. Insulation helps control and maintain a home's
temperature. Whether containing cold air from an air conditioner or warm
air from a heater, insulation can help.
The U. S. Department of
Energy has developed a measuring system to help homeowners determine the
thermal resistance of different insulation materials, such as windows,
siding, fiberglass insulation, etc. The term 'R-Value' is a unit of
thermal resistance used for comparing insulating values of different
materials. The higher the R-Value of a material, the greater its
insulating properties and the slower the heat flows through it. The U.S.
Department of Energy recommends that homes have a combined R-Value of 11.
Following are a couple of
ways that homeowners can increase their home's R-Value.
* Make sure that existing
windows and doors are properly sealed. Replace old windows with double
pane replacement windows with argon gas and a foam filled frame. Argon is
an inert gas that prevents outside air from penetrating the home. The
foam filled frame acts as an additional insulator around seams and helps
reduce noise. Doors, like windows, should have tight seals. Homeowners
can use caulking around windows and doorframes to insure strong seams.
* Homeowners can insulate
existing walls with insulating foam. Foam is blown into walls throughout
the home and takes up space within the walls. Homeowners can also roll
fiberglass insulation onto attic floors.
* For the exterior, insulate
with solid core siding. While foam and fiberglass insulate only the wall
cavity, solid core siding insulates the entire wall, including studs and
joists. Solid core siding features an insulated core inside the siding
for increased thermal resistance.
* Look for building products
that carry the Energy Star logo. The U.S. Department of Energy and the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency developed the Energy Star logo to
identify products, which meet the energy efficiency guidelines set by
these two government agencies. When installed as suggested in the Energy
Star Insulation Guide, products with this logo can save energy.
To learn more about Solid
Core Siding, call Crane Performance Siding. Solid Core Siding not only
increases energy efficiency, but it also increases noise reduction and
impact resistance, and carries the Energy Star logo. It is four times
stronger than vinyl siding and has an R-Value as high as 4.5. To receive
free information, call 1-800-366-8472 or visit www.vinyl-siding.com.
Courtesy of ARA Content,
www.aracontent.com, e-mail:
info@aracontent.com
