The cost of heating and cooling your home can often be a huge hit to your wallet. If you are looking for ways to save some money, then a great thing to do is to improve your home's insulation. This will help to reduce the amount of money you spend on both your air conditioning as well as your heating.
You can do some relatively minor upgrades to your home, and these will help you during the summer keep the cool air in and the hot sun out, and conversely, in the winter it will help you keep the heat from leaking out of your house. Some of them are super-fast solutions that you can do in an afternoon; the others are more upgrades that you will need to hire someone for. Here are some things to look at.
Insulating Drapes and Curtains
The fastest and cheapest way to get some cheap insulation is to buy some insulating curtains. These are perfect because you can get them online or at a local home improvement store and then install them in your home over the weekend. The drapes and curtains help preserve the exchange of temperature. They are exceptionally great if you happen to have large glass windows or sliding doors. If you do, you can hang these large curtains, and they will help insulate the room.
New Windows With Better Insulation
The one downside to something such as curtains or drapes is that they block the outside light. So, if you want the beautiful view that your windows afford, you might want to choose to have new windows installed. Many older homes were built with windows that were single paned. This is not the most energy conservative design. The optimal solution you should look for is a window with modern glass (double hung). There are even glass designs that have a gas inserted between the two panes. This gas is used as a completely transparent insulation. It is sealed into the glass and acts to prevent excessive heat loss.
New Spray Foam Insulation
One of the most effective ways to insulate your home is to replace the old insulation with new insulation. If you have old, frayed insulation that is no longer efficient, then you should look into spray foam insulation. This is often most more effective than the old batted roles of pink, fluffy insulation that you might have laying in your attic or crawl spaces. The best thing you can do is to call a contractor who is skilled at installing new spray foam insulation. This sort of insulating material can reach corners where large strips can't and therefore is much more insulating.
