There are countless benefits to having your home properly insulated. It lowers your heating and air conditioning expenses, reduces temperature fluxes, averts mould growth, absorbs outside noise and reduces your home’s carbon footprint.
You may be interested in doing it yourself, but hiring an insulation expert will pay off in how they evaluate your home and install the most suitable solution.
Indicators for insulation problems will vary by season. During the winter, look out for walls and floors that are cold to the touch, high heating expenses, uneven temperatures throughout your home, snow melting on the roof, or mould growing on your walls. During summer, if insulation is an issue, you will have high cooling expenses, unnervingly hot rooms, an inefficient air conditioning system, or mould growing in your basement.
The effectiveness of insulation materials is measured in R values – the greater the R value, the greater the resistance the material has to the movement of heat. The insulation goods that are sold in Canada are characterized by both R (imperial) and RSI (metric) values. Provincial building codes stipulate minimum R and RSI values for each space in the newly-built house, so it is imperative to know your local building code regulations if you are building a new home.
If you home is well insulated it is well sealed, but ventilated appropriately. Healthy homes should be able to breathe and if you add more insulation, particularly spray foam, you will also need to add extra venting or an air exchanger.
Adequate ventilation will have a continuous in flow of fresh air and out flow of stale, indoor air. If ventilation is not up to par, condensation will occur and the moisture can bring mould, which in turn can cause health problems mainly respiratory.
Before hiring your installer, conduct some research. Go through their online reviews, ask to contact some of their recent clients, and ask about the materials they plan to use. It would also be a promising idea to request a copy of their insurance certificate and license.
Experienced contractors use sophisticated evaluation techniques before the beginning work. Adding more insulation to an older home is not the best first step. They must first locate and repair air leakages.
Once these air leakages are found and repaired, contractors will often vacuum the old insulation material out, apply the spray foam then blow-in loose fill insulation on top for optimal insulation. By using these techniques, the possible value of energy savings can be accurately calculated by taking measurements before and after the insulation work is completed.
If you are looking for an experienced and affordable heating and cooling contractor in Ottawa to handle all your Ottawa HVAC needs, then give us a call to get professional help with your central air conditioner, furnace or fireplace for a complete home comfort experience. We have decades of experience in home heating and cooling and Capital City Heating & Cooling provides all HVAC services including heating & air conditioning installation, repair, service & maintenance in Ottawa and surrounding areas.