Many homeowners spend most of their time concentrating on improving their home’s curb appeal or interior design. While these cosmetic home improvements are important, you can make other changes to your home that improve energy efficiency while putting a little extra money back into your bank account.
For places like Minnesota, where temperatures fluctuate significantly throughout the year, installing the proper amount of attic insulation is essential. Attics that are appropriately insulated help homeowners save money by reducing energy loss and maintaining level temperatures throughout the year.
Benefits of Attic Insulation
Attic insulation is integral in keeping your home’s internal temperature maintained throughout the year. It works with existing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to keep your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Other benefits of an adequately installed attic insulation system include:
- Reduction of energy loss resulting in lower heating and cooling costs
- Improved home energy efficiency rating
- Prevention of ice damming when partnered with proper attic ventilation
- Floors and walls stay cooler in the summer and warmer in winter
- Protects roof shingles from accumulating moisture or overheating in warmer months
- Reduces prevalence of mold, mildew, and wood rot
- Allows for even snow cover on the roof during winter
There are several ways that attic insulation can improve your home’s efficiency and reduce energy costs throughout the year. It also helps prevent dangerous occurrences like ice damming and snow pile-up in the winter. Attic insulation is an extremely beneficial addition for any home, but it’s especially important to install in areas like Minnesota, where the temperature fluctuates significantly throughout the seasons.
Why Attic Insulation Is Essential for Minnesota Homes
Insulating an attic can improve a home’s efficiency in any climate. However, it’s especially essential that homeowners in Minnesota install adequate insulation to keep their homes comfortable and cost-efficient all year long. Minnesota homeowners should work with a professional to install the right amount of insulation for their attic. It’s easy, affordable, and saves homeowners extra money at the end of the day. Let’s discuss some other positive impacts of proper attic insulation in Minnesota homes:
1. Reduces Heat Loss
Any Minnesota homeowner will attest, the winters in the Midwest are brutal. The last thing anyone wants to do is trek through the cold, snow, and wind after a long day of work, just to come home to a cold house.
It’s estimated that over 40% of your house’s heat escapes through the attic. This is because attics often contain bypasses or pathways for air to travel between heated and conditioned spaces and an unconditioned attic. Bypasses can include leaks around pipes, wiring, outlets, and HVAC systems. Adding insulation around these areas reduces the amount of air that can escape.
In the frigid Minnesota winters, you want to maintain as much heat as possible in your home. Attic insulation is essential for Minnesota homeowners who want to keep their house warm and comfortable in the cold winter months.
2. Prevents Ice Damming and Moisture Accumulation on Roofs
If you’re concerned about ice dams forming on your roof during the winter, add attic insulation to reduce the prevalence of this annoying problem. Ice dams form along the edges of rooflines when melting snow freezes and prevent excess water from draining off the roof. Ice dams are often found around vents, skylights, and other areas where the roof’s inclined sides meet.
Ice dams are dangerous because they allow excess water to pool along your roof after the snow has melted. If this water lingers for too long, it can seep through the roof into other parts of your homes, causing excessive damage to your property. Moisture accumulation can lead to mold, mildew, or wood rot, which results in costly removal and repairs.
Unless you get rid of ice dams, they will continue to accumulate throughout the winter without adequate attic insulation. Your roof’s temperature has a significant impact on the size and prevalence of ice dams. Attic insulation keeps your roof’s temperature regulated in the winter by allowing cold air into the attic while sealing out the warm air from below. So, with the right amount of insulation, you can keep your house warm inside while keeping your roof cold to prevent ice dams in the winter.
3. Cuts Down Energy Costs
The number one reason we recommend attic insulation for all Minnesota homeowners is the vast reduction in energy costs year-round. Attic insulation helps keep a uniform temperature throughout your home in the cold Minnesota winters and during sweltering summer months. Minnesota’s climate can swing from one extreme to another in a matter of days, hours, or sometimes even minutes. Having to switch on and off your AC and heating apparatuses frequently is costly and wastes energy.
When your attic lacks insulation, heating and cooling systems have to work incredibly hard to replace the lost air continually. This results in an expensive energy bill at the end of the month. Attic insulation prevents warm or cold air from escaping all the lived-in areas of your home so you and your family can remain comfortable in all seasons. When your home’s temperature is regulated, the HVAC systems don’t have to work as hard, saving you immense amounts of money over time.
Insulate Your Minnesota Attic Now
An uninsulated attic can have costly effects on your energy consumption. Over 40% of your home’s heat is lost through bypasses into uninsulated attics. Without attic insulation, your HVAC system will have to work twice as hard to replace the escaping air inside your home continually.
Insulation is especially essential for homes in Minnesota because the climate is so unpredictable. Homeowners need adequate insulation to keep their homes cool in summer and warm in Minnesota’s unforgiving winters. Stop wasting money and energy through your inefficient attic. Contact a professional to provide input on the ideal amount of insulation for your Minnesota attic. Once you install insulation, you’ll see improvements in your home’s energy efficiency immediately. Stay comfortable in your Minnesota home all year long with a perfectly insulated attic.
