As seasons change, homeowners begin to assess how they can remain warm and comfortable at home while also saving on energy. Luckily the answer is simple and only needs to be done once – insulate and air seal the home’s building envelope.
Perhaps one of the most overlooked yet critical components of a home’s building envelope is its insulation needs, as reported earlier this year by The Times Union in New York. In the article, Paul Mendel, owner and operator of True Building Performance, an independently-owned and certified New York State Energy Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) home performance contractor, stressed the importance of ensuring your home is properly insulated, even before considering buying new energy-efficient appliances. “It doesn’t matter how cheap you make heat, like having the highest efficiency boiler ever or having heat pumps that are all electric, if you’re losing it anyway,” said Mendel.
One of the best ways to air seal and insulate your home is by installing spray foam insulation. From West Virginia to Kansas, spray foam insulator contractors have raised the benefits of this innovative building material, particularly as temperatures start to drop across the country. “In the wintertime, as you’re heating your house it’s trying to escape outside. Our solution for that is to better insulate your home, preferably with spray foam,” said Jacob Clark, co-owner of iFOAM in West Virginia. Appearing on local NBC-affiliate station WSAZ, Clark shared his personal experience with spray foam insulation in his own home, which helps him save about $30 a month on his energy bill. Kansas Spray Foam Insulation founders Diana and Kevin Brauer appeared on local Fox-affiliate station KSNT to share the benefits of spray foam insulation with viewers. Kevin emphasized that “spray foam has been by far proven to be the most effective (insulation material) because it’s an automatic air barrier… It has higher R ratings, which improves your thermal efficiency, so your HVAC works better. And, it is permanent; you just don’t have to go back and add more.”
Another benefit to spray foam insulation is its resiliency qualities. With the increasing severity of extreme weather, homeowners are taking proactive steps to fortify the resilience of their residential properties. Among these crucial resilience elements, spray foam insulation takes on a vital role within the walls and roof of homes. Spray foam insulation delivers superior thermal resistance and effective moisture control, increases racking strength to your home, and limits the risks of wind-uplift on a roof structure, which is critical to the survival of the building during a high-wind event. An Associated Press article also chronicled several stories from homeowners and builders who have a put a priority on constructing homes that are not only energy efficient but are able to better withstand severe weather. As Pearl Homes CEO Marshall Gobuty has said, he’s looking to build homes that are “not just sustainable, but resilient.”
And now, thanks to the Inflation Reductions Act (IRA), homeowners can now take advantage of a range of incentives aimed at encouraging homeowners to enhance their properties. Specifically, the 25C tax credit program enables homeowners to receive up to $1,200 to offset the initial expenses of insulating their homes with spray foam insulation.
Spray foam insulation is the all-in-one solution to help you stay comfortable in your home, strengthen your home’s resiliency against harsh weather, and save money both now and for years to come.