NORTH BROWARD & BOCA Blog

How Insulation Reduces Your Carbon Footprint in North Broward & Boca

Solar panels are not the only way Florida residents can help cut down on their energy consumption and utility bills. When it comes to being #EnergyEfficient, insulation reduces energy consumption, waste, and even cuts down on your utility bill costs!

When you think of making your home energy-efficient, what are the first steps that come to mind? For Florida residents, it is most likely making changes like adding solar panels, running the air conditioner (AC) less, or maybe even planting a bee garden. What many homeowners may not consider reducing their carbon footprint is checking their insulation.

Insulation affects your home’s environmental impact in a number of ways. Everything from the material type to proper coverage throughout the house can reduce your energy consumption. For more information, the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA) has a report that is still regularly referenced to support the idea that insulation contributes significantly to a positive environmental impact. That is, of course, when it is properly installed, and your home is well covered.

How Insulation Works in Your Home

Insulation works to control the rate of heat transfer in your home, which is the rate at which heat enters or escapes your building. The primary function of insulation is to help regulate the temperature throughout your home, keeping the desired heat inside during the winter and the unwanted heat outside during the summer.

Many homeowners are familiar with their attic insulation, which is one of the most important areas to have properly insulated because of rising heat. But your home needs to have additional insulation throughout the walls, floors, basement, and ceiling to effectively reduce heat transfer. This is often why insulation falls under the “out of sight, out of mind” mindset for most homeowners, falling neglected for years.

3 Ways Insulation Reduces Your Carbon Footprint

By having your home properly insulated, the material actually contributes to the reduction of many energy-wasting processes. When choosing what kind of insulation to install in your home, your local insulation contractor can help you come to a decision that minimizes waste, is responsibly sourced and reduces pollution.

Better Energy Efficiency

Insulation contributes to energy efficiency before even making it into your home. The insulation industry is evolving and growing every year. Similar to how building codes and standards are updated regularly to include sustainable practices and environmentally friendly research, insulation manufacturers and installers are continuously shifting their practices to be more green. For example, when looking to reinsulate the blown-in material of an attic, cellulose is replacing fiberglass in many households because it’s made up of over 85% recycled material.

Our team at Koala Insulation of North Broward and Boca does our part to make energy efficiency a priority. Our insulation manufacturers are trusted sources of environmentally conscious products and the materials we offer as options to install in your home are selected in an effort to reduce waste without sacrificing cost.

Reduced Energy Waste

Once you have the right insulation installed and updated, the material is already helping reduce your energy waste. We mentioned earlier that as a Florida resident, you may consider running your AC (air conditioner) less to try to help reduce energy consumption; however, that can be a difficult task to regularly accomplish in the hot and humid Sunshine State. If you are noticing your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is putting in overtime to cool off your house, you may have an insulation problem.

With a free evaluation, our team can help you determine whether you are gaining unwanted heat from outside because of poor insulation or air sealing. After inspection, Koala Insulation of North Broward and Boca takes additional steps when installing your new or updated insulation: using only the amount necessary to cover your target areas, getting the job done correctly and efficiently the first time to reduce the need for annual updates, and cleaning up afterward so as to properly dispose of any insulation waste in designated recycling areas.

Lower Energy Costs

Finally, because of the energy efficiency and reduced waste of the material installed, there is even further contribution insulation has for your home: lowering energy costs. As mentioned earlier, your HVAC system does not need to work as hard to help regulate the temperature throughout your home if insulation is properly installed and regularly evaluated for potential retrofitting needs. Because of this, homeowners see on average up to a 25% reduction on their regular energy bills.

As a homeowner, you can change certain hardware in your home to use less electricity, like your lightbulbs. However, for more homes, it's more difficult and expensive to change out an entire HVAC system to a unit that consumes less energy; unfortunately, when your unit is pushing itself to the max throughout the year, you will need to replace the unit sooner than you expect. Luckily, not only could you potentially use the savings you are getting on your utility bills to find a new and improved system but with a well-insulated home, your current system will last much longer with fewer repairs and maintenance fees.

Finding the Right Local Insulation Expert

Many homeowners are making the change to environmentally friendly products and doing their part to keep their home's energy efficient. According to a Harvard School of Public Health case study, properly insulating homes to reduce residential energy consumption would reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere "by 293.5 billion pounds over 10 years." A local industry expert can further help educate you on insulation's environmental impact and how the right material can help make your home more energy efficient

At Koala Insulation of North Broward and Boca, we are also dedicated to doing our part to keep your neighborhood safe and comfortable. With thorough research and tested materials and practices, our team is trained and experienced in reducing waste and increasing efficiency without sacrificing cost for you and your household. Contact our team today to schedule a free evaluation and learn more about how insulation can reduce your carbon footprint.