Most people have noticed their monthly bills are already higher than the same period last year. With the colder winter months, keeping your home heated to your desired comfort levels will result in higher bills than last year.
What can you do to help reduce your hydro bills?
One area of the home where heat loss occurs is through the attic, which is also a frequently overlooked area homeowners can improve. The costs to increase the insulation in the attic to help reduce and prevent heat loss is an affordable home improvement. Insulation is blown into the attic on top of existing insulation.
The amount of insulation your home needs to achieve optimal results depends upon the age of the home. Even if your home is newer, it is beneficial to examine the amount of current insulation in the attic. You would be surprised by how many homeowners are shocked to discover the insulation in their new home is not sufficient to prevent excessive heat loss!
In fact, current building codes only require around an R-32 insulation rating for attics, while the government actually recommends attics have between an R-50 and R-60 insulation rating in order to have a proper attic system, which translates to between 18 and 19 inches of insulation. So, if your attic does not have at least 18 inches of insulation you could be losing around 20% of your heating right through the attic!
With increased insulation, you can help reduce heat loss by up to 80% and keep your home warmer! This will translate to lower hydro bills this winter. In addition to increasing attic insulation, other areas of the home you should inspect includes:
- Check around doors and windows for air leaks.
If you can see day light around doors, it means there is an air leak. Do not forget to check the bottom of the door as there could be a small gap where cold air is getting into the home. For windows, hold your hand close to the window’s exterior frame to see if you can feel cold air coming into the home. Air leaks are easy to seal up with weather stripping.
- Another way to help reduce hydro bills is to make sure your home’s heating system is operating correctly.
Remember to change your furnace’s air filter on a regular basis. Dirty air filters cause the furnace to run harder and use more energy. Furthermore, adjust the setting on your thermostat to reflect different times of day. If you have a programmable thermostat this is easy to do, otherwise, you might want to invest in one if you do not want to worry about adjusting it manually.
For more information about improving the attic insulation in your GTA home, or to schedule an appointment to receive a free quote, contact Logik Roofing today at 905.424.7469.
