SOUTH KANSAS CITY Blog

The Advantages of Proper Overland Park Ceiling Insulation

If you dread opening your utility bill each month and seeing the amount you have to pay for energy charges, you're probably searching for ways to lessen that financial blow by reducing your home's energy consumption. Homeowners are often surprised to learn that calling an Overland Park insulation expert to take care of Overland Park ceiling insulation installation can make a huge difference in houses with inadequate ceiling insulation—or worse, none at all. But there are also other big advantages that have nothing to do with saving money, like making your home more comfortable and improving indoor air quality.

When you're ready to claim all the benefits of proper Overland Park ceiling insulation for your home, call the team of reliable insulation service providers at Koala Insulation of South Kansas City. We have the experience and skill to ensure that your home stays snug and warm all winter and refreshingly cool all summer. 

Parts of Your House That Need Overland Park Ceiling Insulation

Before we dive right into all the benefits of Overland Park ceiling insulation, we thought it might be a good idea to clarify what it is and which parts of your home need it. Ceiling insulation is generally necessary on the upper side (the non-visible side) of your top-story ceiling to prevent heat flow from rising through the ceiling and escaping out through a ventilated roof. In most houses, that means it will need to be placed in the attic space, on the "floor" of the attic, which is usually not a real floor but just the other side of the ceiling. 

However, homes with cathedral ceilings or heated, habitable attic spaces warrant some special consideration when it comes to ceiling insulation. Overland Park, KS professionals will evaluate the current condition and configuration of insulation in those areas and come up with the best strategy to ensure that your ceiling has proper insulation but is also able to vent excess heat and humidity to avoid moisture buildup and contaminated insulation. Overland Park ceiling insulation isn't strictly necessary for lower stories that are not right below the roof, but there are some advantages of insulating those ceilings as well. It really improves acoustic performance and sound separation between floors, so footsteps and other noises from above aren't as noticeable. It also makes it possible to control the indoor temperature between floors more accurately, as some families prefer to keep sleeping areas cooler and living areas like the kitchen and family room warmer.

How Overland Park Ceiling Insulation Can Save You Money

Most people are interested in saving money, especially money that's being unnecessarily spent on something that doesn't benefit anyone in the slightest. When you have an uninsulated or under-insulated ceiling, a big portion of your monthly energy bills are being spent on thermal energy loss or gain, also known as heat transfer. That is the natural process in which thermal energy attempts to move from a warm zone to a colder zone.

When it comes to a lack of energy efficiency and inadequate ceiling insulation, Overland Park, KS residents often notice the problem most during those long, hot summer days when the sun is beating down on their roof and radiating heat throughout the entire house like an oven. That typically prompts people to turn their air conditioner on full blast to get their indoor space down to a comfortable temperature, but because so much heat is getting past that inadequate barrier, your AC has to operate much longer and use significantly more fuel to compensate, and of course that noticeably increases your energy costs.

The same effect happens in winter with your furnace but in reverse. As we all know from elementary school science class, heat rises. That means the thermal energy that your furnace outputs rises up to your ceiling and then seeps through into your unheated attic space, where it escapes to the cold outdoors. People also refer to it as rapid heat loss which can be problematic on snowy days because all the snow on your roof will melt and re-freeze at the eaves. This is the leading cause of ice dams. Since the heat it produced has escaped, your furnace has to turn back on and burn more energy to keep your building warm. That's why installing or topping up your Overland Park ceiling insulation could result in thermal efficiency and significant energy savings in both summer and winter.

Other Advantages of Overland Park Ceiling Insulation

Saving money is, of course, a worthwhile consideration—but a safer, more comfortable home is priceless. Here are some of the other major advantages of proper Overland Park ceiling insulation.

Increase Home Comfort

No one likes being uncomfortably warm in a sweltering house or shivering every time a chilly air draft blasts through their indoor living space. Overland Park ceiling insulation can do a lot to eliminate those uncomfortable problems and help keep your home at your preferred temperature all year 'round.

Avoid Moisture Damage

Insulation helps to prevent condensation, which is one of a homeowner's worst enemies—whether they know it or not. Your Overland Park ceiling insulation installation will include a vapor barrier on the "warm" side between the ceiling structure and the actual insulation material. Water always tries to move downward, plowing through anything in its path so that vapor barrier stops moisture from seeping into your habitable space and causing major problems like stained, softened drywall, mold and mildew growth, and wood rot. Since wood rot leads to serious structural damage when left untreated, preventing it is an important benefit.

Improve Indoor Air Quality

Dust, pollen and other allergens tend to build up in attic spaces and then drift down into your living space, causing misery for allergy sufferers and lowering the indoor air quality. Overland Park ceiling insulation installation seals off your attic zone, so allergens won’t be able to get inside so easily. It's also possible that your existing ceiling insulation has been contaminated by animal feces, mold or other potentially harmful substances and allergens that are spreading around the rest of your house. That's why our insulation removal and replacement services can be one of the best indoor air quality solutions for your home.

More Environmentally Friendly

Energy resources are finite and take their toll on our environment, so conserving them by installing Overland Park ceiling insulation so you don't need to run your HVAC system as much has a positive impact on the environment by reducing your carbon footprint. That's why Energy Star, the program that is jointly run by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, recommends certain insulation levels for any home or commercial property.

Signs Your Overland Park Ceiling Insulation Needs to Be Replaced or Topped Up

In all likelihood, you already have some Overland Park ceiling insulation installed. It is a standard part of any new construction, so it has to be put in when the house is built. But if you have an older home or your house has suffered certain problems like bats in the attic, that insulation is probably in bad shape and needs to be replaced. Or, it's possible it has compressed over time or been shifted around and can't provide adequate coverage anymore. In that case, we may be able to solve the problem by leaving the existing material in place and simply adding more in a process called retrofitting or topping up.

Not sure if your attic insulation is due for replacement or retrofitting? Here are the indications that it's time to call Koala Insulation of South Kansas City:

• Energy charges on your utility bill are increasing
• Insect, rodent or bat infestations
• Fluctuating temperatures or cold and hot zones in your house
• Old, compacted insulation that is much thinner than it used to be
• Material is visibly damp, or there are signs of water damage, such as mildew and mold growth

Best Types of Insulation for Ceilings

When it comes to the material choices for ceiling insulation, Overland Park, KS homeowners quickly realize that there are several different choices available—but they are divided into categories that are more about the structure of the material than what it's actually made of. Three of the most common types of Overland Park ceiling insulation materials available are rolls, batts and blown-in.

The blown-in or loose-fill insulation, such as loose-fill fiberglass insulation, are made of similar materials. Aside from fiberglass, you could also get blown-in installations that are made of recycled materials like fabric and paper. The difference from the blanket varieties is that the material isn't contained in a unit that can be picked up and placed where you need it. It's loose, small chunks of material that need to be literally “blown in” to the space with a forced-air machine. It gets everywhere, which can be both an upside and a downside. If there are parts of the floor space that you don't want covered, blown-in is not going to work. Blown-in insulation does offer superior protection over the batt version because it gets into every little space, but it's more difficult to remove and can be shifted around over time to create thin spots.  

Batt Vs. Roll Ceiling Insulation

Both batts and rolls have similar costs and functions. They come in the same range of R-values. So what is better for your home? That really depends on factors such as the size and shape of the area that needs coverage, and whether there are obstructions that may need to be worked around.

If you've got a big, empty space, rolls will probably be the preferred option. They go down quickly and are easily cut at the end to the correct size for your attic without leaving gaps between pieces. But if your attic is more cramped, oddly shaped, or has a lot of obstacles to move around, batts are likely the better choice. They are a lot easier to move, and they are much simpler to fit around corners, support pillars, and so on.

Fiberglass Insulation

When most people think of insulation, the image that pops into their heads is the "fluffy" pink material that looks like cotton candy. It is also called blanket insulation, and while it may look comfortable and soft, it actually consists of hair-thin strands of recycled glass that could cause serious injury if they get embedded in your skin, so it's important not to touch fiberglass insulation with bare skin. Fiberglass batt insulation comes in rolls, or "blankets," but it can also be purchased in a loose-fill format that requires a vapor barrier. 

Spray Foam Insulation 

This type is made of polyurethane foam and applied with a sprayer machine. It expands into every corner to form an airtight seal with a high R-value and is a high performance product that is increasingly popular with builders and homeowners alike. Some of the advantages are that it reduces moisture damage and air leaks without the need for a vapor barrier. The only real downside is that it is the most expensive option.

Mineral Wool Insulation

Mineral wool looks similar to fiberglass batt insulation, but mineral wool is made of natural materials rather than glass. There are two varieties of mineral wool: rock wool, made out of natural stone fibers, and slag wool, made from metal fibers that are a byproduct of iron ore waste. It is naturally moisture-resistant and doesn't burn unless it is exposed to temperatures that exceed 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, so it has the major advantage of acting as a fire barrier. It is also the best insulation for sound separation, so if you'd like to reduce the volume of noise that travels between the stories of your house, mineral wool installation on the ceilings in between stories is an excellent sound-proofing insulation service to invest in.

Call the Experts at Koala Insulation for Overland Park Ceiling Insulation Services

Are you looking for reliable ceiling insulation services in Overland Park or nearby communities such as Lee's Summit, Mission or Fairway? Look no further than the team of experts at Koala Insulation of South Kansas City! Our local insulation pros will guarantee to make your home more energy efficient and comfortable for many years to come!

Our friendly customer service representatives can be reached at 816-929-8255 to schedule a consultation or find out more about our dependable insulation installation and removal services.