Homeowners can easily overlook basements and crawlspaces when it comes to insulation. However, doing so can lead to several problems, including higher energy bills. Making sure your basement or crawlspace is properly insulated can provide you with notable benefits as a homeowner.
Why Basements and Crawlspaces Need Insulation
Basements and crawlspaces are the areas where your house’s foundation and the ground connect. This can put your home at risk of air leaks through small gaps or cracks. Your home can also end up with foul odors that come through your basement or crawlspace. These areas might also provide mold, fungus, and mildew with the right environment to grow when they’re not properly insulated. This can cause health issues in your home, along with poor air quality. Adding enough insulation to basements and crawlspaces helps prevent these problems from occurring while also offering the following benefits for homeowners.
Reduced Energy Usage
Putting insulation in your crawlspace or basement helps stop air leaks. These leaks can cause cold air to seep into the main part of your home during winter, resulting in the need to have your furnace on more often. Air leaks in basements and crawlspaces can also cause warmer air to enter your home in summer, causing you to you need to run your air conditioning more frequently. Having to heat or cool your home more raises your energy bills. Adding insulation to your crawlspace or basement means you won’t need to rely on your heating and cooling systems as much, leading to lower energy bills.
Comfortable Home Interior
An uninsulated basement or crawlspace can make your home feel colder in winter or warmer than it should be in summer. During winter, you might have cold floors to walk on or drafts coming into your main living space. This can create an unpleasant environment in your home. Determining how much insulation your basement or crawlspace needs and adding that amount reduces drafts from air leaks and helps the floors above these areas feel warmer, even on the coldest winter days.
Better Indoor Air Quality
Moisture in basements and crawlspaces can cause your home to have a mold or mildew problem. The presence of mold or mildew lowers your indoor air quality and can cause you and your family to experience health issues, such as respiratory problems. Having a well-insulated basement or crawlspace helps reduce excess moisture that leads to mold and mildew problems. When you add insulation to this part of your home, this helps improve your indoor air quality and lowers the risk of health problems caused by mold or mildew exposure.
As a Massachusetts home performance contractor, Valley Home Insulation delivers residential insulation and weatherization services to homes across Massachusetts. Our insulation experts in Lawrence, MA, can help you determine how much insulation this part of your home needs. Please call us at (978) 984-7338 or fill out our no-obligation form to set up a no-cost energy assessment.
