Do You Need Windows or Insulation First?

You've decided that you’re going to upgrade your home’s energy efficiency, so you can stop wasting heat (and money), and start feeling comfortable in your home all year long. But where should you start? Many homeowners believe that most of their energy loss occurs around their windows, so that would be the best place to start—but today, we’re going to explain why that isn’t usually the case.

Replacement Windows vs. Insulation: Which Will Save You More?

Window replacement companies claim that upgrading your home with new energy efficient windows will save you money. But what they fail to mention is that replacing all of the windows in your home is often very expensive, and costs much more than replacing your insulation, making it difficult to easily recoup your upfront costs in lower monthly energy bills. And the energy savings aren’t always as significant as many window companies claim—several were forced to settle with the FTC in 2012 over deceptive and exaggerated claims of energy savings.

Replacing old insulation and air sealing with new spray foam insulation or cellulose insulation, on the other hand, is often significantly less expensive than installing new windows, and targets areas of your home where heat loss most commonly occurs. For example, the Washington Post reports that only 10% of air leakage in an average home comes from windows, while more than 30% comes from ceilings, walls, and doors, and another 13% from plumbing penetrations, which air sealing can help prevent.

Schedule a Home Energy Audit and Make the Right Call on Energy Efficiency Improvements for Your Home

Luckily, building science experts don’t have to rely on simple “averages” and guesswork to get to the bottom of high energy costs and low comfort levels in your home. If you’re wondering whether it would be better to insulate your walls or replace the windows in your home, schedule a home energy consultation first!

An energy audit or consultation is a thorough and comprehensive inspection of your home. Using the knowledge and experience from our BPI-certified energy auditor team, as well as advanced building science technology including blower door tests and infrared thermal cameras, we can discover just how much heat and air is moving in and out of your home currently, and also pinpoint the areas where the highest levels of energy loss are occurring.

Using the results of our testing and inspection, we’ll recommend the home improvement work we believe will lead to noticeable differences in your indoor comfort as well as the amount you pay in monthly heating and cooling costs, like:

• Attic insulation (which also helps prevent ice dams)

• Wall insulation

• Basement insulation

Find the Right Solution for Your Home with Princeton Air

At Princeton Air, we offer a wide range of services for your home, from heating and cooling to healthy home and indoor air quality to home performance and insulation upgrades. Many of our insulation grades even quality for rebates through the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program, which can help you lower your upfront costs even more and allow you to get started on money-saving upgrades for your Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset, or Bucks County home today.

Make sure your home improvement investment makes an actual difference in the comfort and energy efficiency of your home. Call 609-799-3434 or contact us today to schedule a home energy consultation and get started.