A house is composed of many systems that add up to how comfortable, healthy, and efficient a home can be - however, many homeowners here in central and south central PA often attribute their home comfort or energy bill issues to a single culprit. In reality, all of these systems are interconnected, meaning changes in your insulation may affect the efficiency of your heating and cooling system, which will affect your indoor air quality, overall comfort, and the efficiency of your home.
At Energy Smart Home Improvement, we have made it our business to look at improving homes throughout Gettysburg, Mechanicsburg, York, Harrisburg, Carlisle, and Lancaster in a holistic and integrated manner, in order to find the best long-term solutions to issues like indoor drafts, inconsistent temperatures throughout a home, high heating and cooling costs, and homes that won’t stay comfortable. Here is what you need to know about treating your home with the whole-home approach.
How Your Home Functions as a System
Imagine your home as a living, breathing thing. For example, leaks in the airtight barrier of your home can introduce unconditioned air and contaminants into your home, making your HVAC work harder in every season and driving up energy costs. Similarly, a lack of insulation will allow heat to either escape or infiltrate your home through the materials that your home is constructed with, which will increase the amount of energy required by your heating or cooling system to keep up.
In order to ensure the many passive and mechanical systems in a home are all working in sync with each other, a home must first be isolated from the air outside while still providing adequate ventilation. At Energy Smart Home Improvement, we determine how to best go about improving the thermal and pressure boundary of your home through a diagnostic home energy assessment.
Our Whole Home Assessment Process
Energy Smart Home Improvement starts with a thorough home assessment to assess your home’s performance. We use our extensive building science expertise and experience to pinpoint areas where your home is losing energy or comfort, like inadequate insulation, air leaks, or outdated HVAC systems. From there, we recommend improvements that work together to enhance overall performance—often combining insulation upgrades with air sealing for maximum impact.
The Importance of Insulation and Air Sealing
Insulation and air sealing are two crucial components of the whole home approach. Proper insulation in areas like the crawl space, basement, and the attic will reduce heat transfer, maintaining consistent indoor temperatures throughout the year. Whether it’s keeping the heat out in summer or retaining warmth in winter, insulation acts as your home's thermal blanket. However, even the best insulation can't work effectively if your home has gaps or leaks that let in unwanted drafts. That's where air sealing comes in, targeting common problem areas like doors, windows, and attics to prevent air leaks that can disrupt comfort and spike energy bills.
When completed together by a professional insulation and air sealing expert, insulation and air sealing upgrades will improve the efficiency of your furnace, air conditioner, or heat pumps, but you may also notice:
Indoor drafts
Cleaner air
Increased soundproofing
Lower heating and cooling bills
Energy Smart Home Improvement: Your Partner in Home Performance
At Energy Smart Home Improvement, our goal is to address comfort issues holistically, ensuring every improvement complements the other. We combine building science expertise with the latest technologies to deliver solutions that make your home work better as a whole. Whether it’s enhancing insulation, sealing pesky air leaks, or optimizing your HVAC system our approach is designed to maximize your home’s performance, comfort, and efficiency.