Why Good Insulation is Key in the Summer Months

With a week of heat like the one we are having, homeowners with air conditioning have most certainly relied on its luxuries. But for all the comfort that cold air provides, running the A/C constantly over long periods of time can do a number on your energy bills. This is especially true if you live in a home with poor insulation. 

Most people think about the benefits of insulation during the winter but the truth is that a well-insulated home will benefit you all year round. As many of us know from school science class, heat rises, which is why the top floor and attic are always warmer than the bottom floor of a house. When an attic has no insulation, it will become significantly hotter than the outside temperature. Go ahead and touch the ceiling. If it feels warm, you can just imagine what the temperature is like above it. 

When your home doesn’t have enough insulation, those air conditioning units have to do double duty to regulate the temperature. Whether you have central air or window units, they are working overtime to keep you comfortable. All that extra effort gets reflected in your energy bills at the end of the month. 

There are several places where a home can get a boost in the insulation department. The attic is the place for the biggest improvement because it has the largest square footage and sees the greatest temperature changes. It’s also a place in the home that we tend to ignore because we’re not in there very often. Insulation options run from blowing loose fiberglass under the floor to laying batts between the floor joists. There are pros and cons to each option and they depend on the size of the house, the clearance space, and what the attic is used for. No matter which way you go,  a well-insulated attic is a pretty inexpensive home improvement and it will more than pay for itself in both energy costs and overall resale value.

In addition to the attic, ensuring that windows and doors are free of gaps and holes will help to keep your cold air inside. Check your door sweeps to see if they need replacing and seal any windows with caulk or sealing tape. Again, this is going to benefit your home both now and in the winter when you’re trying to keep the warm air in. 

Finally, for those of you with window A/C units, be sure to insulate around them. You can do this simply by using a flexible foam to get a good seal on the top and bottom of the unit. Also, those side curtains aren’t there for nothing. Make sure they are tight fitting and screwed in. They are there to help anchor the unit and keep the sides nice and secure. A window A/C that’s dropped in with no insulation is effectively only running at half power since so much of the cold air goes right back outside, so it’s worth taking the extra steps to do it right. 

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions for Bob to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.

Keep Humidity Away From Your Home This Summer

With a very hot start to the week followed by cooler temperatures, it probably won’t be long before summer weather is in full swing.

With New England's heat comes humidity, which is something every homeowner needs to keep in check. While we can’t control the weather outside, moisture in the house can be a major problem, contributing to mold, mildew, and overall dampness, especially in the attic and basement.

A lot of homeowners combat humidity by using air conditioners in their houses, and while they can reduce the moisture in the air to some degree, this is by no means their primary function. An air conditioner works by sucking the air from your home, cooling it, and blowing it back into the house. That process does reduce the humidity slightly, but pairing your air conditioner with a dehumidifier is the best way to cool down your home so you can sleep more comfortably at night.

A dehumidifier works by pulling the moisture out of the air and storing the excess water in a holding tank. Many people keep dehumidifiers in their basements all year long to control the dampness that can often be felt in these underground areas. This is a great idea because controlling the humidity in the part of your home that holds the most water will very likely help to regulate the rest of the house. 

One way to know if your house is holding a lot of moisture is to purchase a simple five-dollar humidity gauge from the local hardware store. Ideally, you want the humidity to be under 50 percent. If it’s higher, you might want to consider using a dehumidifier in the main part of your home, especially on hot summer days and in areas where you spend the most time. 

In addition to cooling the air and decreasing moisture, running a dehumidifier during the hottest parts of the hottest days can also prevent mold and mildew growth, eliminate musty odors in the home, and prevent old pipes from sweating. Plus, you can use the water collected in the tank to give your plants a good drink.

Dehumidifiers generally run on about half the energy of an air conditioning unit, so as long as you don’t run them all day, using one shouldn’t affect your energy bill. Just be sure to keep windows and doors closed when you run your unit, and only switch the power on during the most humid time of the day, or when the air is above 50 percent humidity.

Be aware that dehumidifiers by nature are drying, so try not to run them while you’re occupying the room over a long period of time, like when you’re sleeping at night. Also, be careful about using dehumidifiers in conjunction with an attic fan. I see people do this all the time and they unintentionally throw the excess moisture from their home or basement up into their attic, where it has no place to escape.

If you’re thinking that a dehumidifier might be a good solution for you, they come in different sizes and can be used for residential or commercial purposes. Generally, a unit will come in 25, 30, and 40-pint models, and on average a 25-pint unit will be sufficient to operate in a 1,000-square-foot area. 

Finally, if you have a dehumidifier, please be sure to keep the filter clean. Dust, dirt, and debris can get caught in the filter, preventing air from flowing freely and potentially circulating mold spores throughout the home. A simple wipe-down with a damp cloth and spray bottle filled with a cleaning solution will do the trick to keep you breathing freely and ensure a longer life for your appliance.

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions for Bob to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.

What’s Growing In Your Attic

This past week’s brutal temperatures had plenty of people thinking about the heat in their homes. While high energy bills, drafty windows, and cold floors are the obvious issues, what most homeowners don’t see is what’s causing the biggest problems in their homes. 

Most of the houses in our area are underinsulated and not properly ventilated. We all know from high school science class that heat rises, right? In a house, that means a good amount of heat makes its way up to the attic where it’s usually pretty cold. When warm and cold air collide, it creates moisture or condensation, which is the last thing you want up there. As an attic collects moisture, it adheres itself to any surface, which in an attic’s case is usually wood. That moisture becomes an ideal home for mold spores, which eat away at the plywood, causing it to rot. 

An attic that has enough insulation and ventilation allows air to flow through and temperature to regulate, which creates a healthy atmosphere and keeps a home warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. A home without proper insulation and ventilation is susceptible to mold infiltration which will create rot, roof leaks, and can even become a potential health hazard in your home, especially for folks with asthma or allergies. 

So how do you know if your home has enough insulation and ventilation? A roofing contractor will be able to help you identify exactly what you need, but a good place to start is insulation. Insulation is measured by its R-Value, which is the level at which heat can penetrate it. According to EnergizeCT, the recommended R-Value for a home here in Connecticut is R38 to R60, which is roughly 12 inches thick at the low end of that range. If you can access your attic, you’ll be able to get an idea of your insulation situation. More than 75% of homes I visit don’t come close to an R-Value of 38, in fact, homes built before 1940 didn’t require insulation at all. Those built in the decades after usually have enough to be suitable for winter in Florida. 

A warm, energy-efficient, and healthy home always starts at the roof. Ensuring your home has enough insulation and ventilation is the best way to prevent bigger problems such as leaks from happening in the future. Plus, getting your home insulated and ventilated properly offers both tax credits and will immediately make a big difference in those energy bills. Don’t forget your family’s health as well. Illness from long-term exposure to mold is not something anyone wants to deal with.

Bob O'Donnell is the owner of O'Donnell Bros, Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions for Bob to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro”. All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O'Donnell Bros, Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.