As the cold weather approaches, now is the time to start thinking ahead about how well your home will stay warm for another long Pennsylvania winter. Were your heating bills high last winter? If you haven’t made any significant changes or upgrades to your house since last then, you’re likely in for more of the same this year! By addressing your home as an integrated system, we help you achieve a more comfortable, energy-efficient environment as you prepare for the cooler weather.
The Whole-Home Approach to Comfort and Efficiency
Energy Smart Home Improvement specializes in what building science experts refer to as a whole-home approach. This means we look at your home as one building composed of interconnected systems designed to keep it comfortable, efficient, and healthy. These systems include your insulation, air sealing, heating, cooling, and ventilation all working together to keep temperatures and humidity levels where you need them.
Many homeowners in areas like Gettysburg and Lancaster mistakenly believe that discomfort in the winter is caused by one specific issue, such as a drafty window or a failing furnace. In reality, the comfort of your house relies on the synergy of multiple components that work together to keep conditioned air inside and unconditioned air out. Here are three upgrades to consider this year for a more comfortable winter in your home.
Attic and Crawl Space Insulation: Your Home’s Thermal Blanket
Proper insulation is one of the most critical elements of a comfortable home during the winter. Insulation acts as a barrier that prevents heat from escaping your house, maintaining consistent indoor temperatures and reducing the workload on your heating system. Houses in Harrisburg and Carlisle often experience cold spots, drafts, or high heating bills due to inadequate or poorly installed insulation.
At Energy Smart Home Improvement, we focus on insulating key areas such as attics, crawl spaces, basements, and walls to ensure your home keeps heat where it belongs during the colder months—in your living space. Insulation upgrades can also prevent ice dams, a common winter issue where heat escaping through the roof melts snow, only to refreeze and cause blockages. By enhancing your insulation, you’ll not only enjoy a warmer home in the winter but also a cooler one in the summer, as the insulation keeps heat out.
Air Sealing: The Key to Stopping Drafts
While insulation is critical, it can’t do its job effectively if your home is leaking air. Air sealing is so integral to insulation’s performance that they are almost always paired together.
Air sealing targets gaps, cracks, and other openings that allow unconditioned air to flow in and out of your home. Whether it’s drafts around windows and doors or leaks in your attic, these gaps compromise your comfort and force your heating system to work overtime, especially during the chilly winters in Camp Hill, Mechanicsburg, and Dillsburg. Together, these improvements create a tight building envelope that keeps warm air inside during winter and prevents heat from infiltrating during summer. The result is a more consistent and comfortable indoor climate all year round.
Benefits of a professionally insulated and air sealed home:
Consistent temperatures throughout rooms and floors
Fewer indoor drafts
A quieter indoor environment
Fewer outside contaminants in your indoor air
Lower heating and cooling costs
Rebates Available for Insulation and Air Sealing
There are rebate programs available now that offer residential customers low-cost home energy assessments. During these assessments, certified energy professionals install energy-saving products which help immediately improve energy efficiency.
Year-Round Comfort with a Whole-Home Approach
Although winter readiness is the focus, it’s important to remember that the improvements we make are not just for one season. A house that’s insulated, sealed, and equipped with efficient HVAC will be more comfortable all year long. Our services start with a thorough home energy assessment, where we use advanced diagnostic tools to pinpoint areas where your house is losing energy.
These assessments help us identify weaknesses in insulation, air leaks, and other areas that could compromise your comfort and drive up your energy bills. By improving these areas in tandem, we can create a home that is warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer, and more efficient all year long.
Get Your Home Ready for Winter with Energy Smart Home Improvement
Is your home ready to face the winter chill? Energy Smart Home Improvement is your partner in preparing for the cold months ahead. Our integrated approach combines the best in insulation, air sealing, and HVAC upgrades to create a comfortable and efficient house, no matter the weather outside.