NASHVILLE Blog

Is your home under insulated?

Under Insulated Home

Insulating homes in Nashville, including neighborhoods like Brentwood, Franklin, East Nashville, Madison, Old Hickory, Bellevue, Belle Meade, Green Hills, Hermitage, La Vergne, Nolensville, and Smyrna, has become vital. Insulation provides various benefits, from lowering energy bills, enhancing comfort in the home, and reducing external noise to reducing carbon footprint and promoting a healthier indoor environment. However, many homeowners neglect the importance of insulating their homes.

According to a report by North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA), up to 90% of U.S. single families are living in under-insulated homes, wasting money and energy. The level of comfort in many U.S. homes has been significantly reduced due to the under-insulated homes. The U.S. Energy Information Administration published the 2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey. The NAIMA estimation in the survey demonstrates that energy consumption in many homes can be reduced with an increase in home insulation. Additionally, pollutants like carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced.

Energy Star Second Campaign & NAIMA Report

The second Rule Your Attic campaign of Energy Star launch was created to help more homeowners recognize the benefits of insulation, make them understand the need to insulate their homes, and encourage them to add insulation to their homes by themselves. The NAIMA's reports sync with this Energy Star second Campaign.  According to the president of NAIMA, Curt Rich, it's particularly crucial to release the NAIMA's report on under-insulated homes due to the declining temperature along with the approaching winter.

Furthermore, Curt Rich states that it is during the fall season when many homeowners around the country begin thinking about home improvements to increase comfort and reduce their energy bills. Research like this should reinforce our message to homeowners and to policymakers that added insulation has real and significant benefits. He also asserts that many homeowners are prone to ignoring the importance of insulation because they don't see it. They fail to recognize that compared to windows and doors, insulation can produce a result three times higher when it comes to preserving energy and increasing comfort in an average home.

Energy Conservation

A professor of Environmental Health at the School of Public Health, Boston University, Jonathan Levy, maintains that if all homes in the US-installed insulations that complied with 2012 International Energy Conservation Code requirements, the country would experience a reduction of 5% in electricity and an increment if natural gas by 10%. Consequently, with these estimations, contractors can begin to provide more insulation service to homeowners who need home insulation. Plus, they would ensure that newly built homes and buildings would have the right amount of insulation required for them.

The 2018 Energy Conservation code for newly constructed residential buildings in Nashville and other surrounding areas, including Brentwood, Franklin, East Nashville, Madison, Old Hickory, Bellevue, Belle Meade, Green Hills, Hermitage, La Vergne, Nolensville, and Smyrna, are now the new standards. Hence Nashville is expected to move from the standard to the 2018 codes.  With the new 2018 code standard, builders would be constructing more energy-efficient homes, allowing more homes to preserve comfortable indoor temperature for longer periods and enhance indoor air quality. Additionally, people will save more money from energy costs, the demands for heating and cooling will be reduced, and the structure's lifespan will last even longer.