Weatherizing a home by strengthening its building envelope can have a sizable impact for homeowners when it comes to lowering energy bills and staying comfortable year-round, despite persistent extreme outdoor temperatures, according to Canary Media.
Living in a home built by his father shortly after WWII, Bennie Tillman Jr., 68, of Athens, Georgia, noticed that the home was becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain a consistent, comfortable temperature during the cold winter months and hot summer days. Last October, contractors addressed the home’s sealing and insulation needs. Tillman and his wife, Annie Mattox, took advantage of federal funding, completing the work at no out-of-pocket costs to them. Now, the couple is saving upwards of $200 a month on energy bills.
The benefits of strengthening your home’s building envelope are plenty, yet according to the Department of Energy (DOE)-backed Advanced Building Construction Collaboration, 75 million housing units, over half of the country’s housing stock, are under-weatherized and in need of sealing and insulation upgrades.
To maximize energy savings homes should be insulated and sealed against air leaks. Traditional insulation, like fiberglass and cellulose, only insulates. Spray foam does both. By using spray foam insulation, homeowners can easily insulate and air seal their homes and be rest assured that the energy used to power their lives is maximized, reducing energy usage and cost.
According to Doug Anderson, Installation Program Manager at Energy Star, a properly weatherized home is “going to start paying you back in comfort and savings immediately after” installation. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), these upgrades can help save homeowners 15% on their heating and cooling bills, paying for themselves after 5 to 10 years.
And now, thanks to tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), homeowners can receive a 30% tax credit for energy-efficient insulation (up to $1,200) to offset the initial expenses of insulating their homes with spray foam insulation. A new feature of the tax credit is that it is available annually. Homeowners can receive $1,200 for a basement update in 2024 and $1,200 for an attic or other upgrade the next year.
Consumers looking to maximize comfort, reduce energy usage, and save money should look to spray foam insulation to strengthen their home’s building envelope.