Spray foam insulation is quickly gaining popularity for many reasons. Among the green movement, spray foam is recognized as one of the best ways to save energy. Among the financially savvy, it’s recognized as one of the best ways to save money on your energy bill, month after month. Whatever the cause, there is no wrong reason to upgrade your home’s outdated insulation.

If you are looking for ways to save money, weatherizing your home is the first thing to consider. The Department of Energy estimates that proper weatherization will produce average savings of about $958 dollars a year in energy costs. The average American family wastes about 30-40% of the money they spend on heating and cooling. Typically, that’s more than $50 dollars a month.

Spray foam insulation offers a much higher resistance to temperature change than classic insulation methods. It also creates a much higher quality seal, as it expands and fills spots that things like fiberglass simply cannot.

Homes with spray foam insulation applied don’t need to run the air conditioner as long to get the house to the desired temperature. Additionally, once the ideal temperature is reached, the home’s air conditioner will run less to maintain that temperature.

Spray foam keeps unwanted moisture out of homes as well. Excessive moisture leads to high humidity, which can cause temperature increases. These factors make spray foam the optimum choice for insulating your home.

If saving money doesn’t put the money in your pockets as fast as you would like, there are other state and federal incentives to consider. Homes in Louisiana that achieve a 30% or higher efficiency improvement qualify for the HERO program, which offers $2,000 just for weatherizing your home. The Energy Smart Program has many potential rebates for people who weatherize their homes in Louisiana as well. There are also several federal programs that offer as much as 10% of costs spent on weatherizing your home to come back to you. If an energy audit is done by Star Spray Foam Systems before the spray foam is applied, they will even take care of the paperwork for these programs for you.

Everything that springs from creation is created twice: first in the mind, and then in reality. Just like in building your dream house, you must first imagine it in your mind, and then build it in reality. But foremost in the planning of your house should be the precise and proper insulation of the attic, which is more exposed and therefore more prone to damage. Attic insulation does not simply refer to plugging every leak; it is also about scientifically sealing every nook and cranny of the attic to prevent dissipation of heat, transmission of sound, and conduction of electricity. Likewise, attic insulation means the use of scientifically tested insulating materials for effective insulation.

You can save a lot of energy if your attic is well insulated. We all know that heat flows from warmer areas to cooler areas, thus it flows freely through leaks in the attic. With proper attic insulation, your air-conditioning system would not be taxed as hard, so you can save energy and money.

There are three popular types of attic insulation materials:

1. Foam insulation is the fast growing choice for attic insulation. It can make your attic fire-resistant because it is flame retardant. Likewise, it can easily fit into difficult corners of the attic for easy installation.
2. Fiberglass insulation is the traditional way of insulating your attic. Fiberglass can be very effective for almost 35 years. It is flame retardant and is chemically safe.
3. Cellulose insulation is cost effective and can easily be installed. However, it’s not fire-resistant. Flame-retardant chemicals are mixed with it to make it more resistant to fire.

Many benefits can be derived from proper attic insulation, including safety. Leaks gradually weaken the attic. Without proper care, the structural support of the attic will be compromised, which risks the safety of your entire house. However, with proper insulation, your attic will stand firm against any inclement weather. Moreover, you can save yourself a lot of hard-earned money with proper attic insulation. However, if there are structural defects from the outset, fixing them immediately will save you a lot of headaches.

When summer approaches, the problem of keeping your house cool becomes apparent. Using air conditioners all throughout the house can get very expensive. Fortunately, we have tips that you can use in order to keep your house cooler. Read these tips below:

1. Tint your windows. Window tinting can help you to keep your home cool by decreasing the amount of sunlight and ultraviolet rays that comes inside. Tints can also make your windows look better.
2. Use drapes on your windows. Drapes can help you stop the sun from coming inside the house. This allows for a cooler atmosphere inside. However, if you prefer to see the view outside, then this tip is not for you. Another downside of this tip is the possibility of accumulating dust on the drapes. If you don’t have allergies, then this wouldn’t be a problem for you.
3. Make sure your house has proper ventilation. You can place fans in your attic in order to avoid the accumulation of hot air in the top of your house. Portable fans are a cheap method of making sure that the air is properly circulating throughout the house. It also keeps the air cooler than the usual temperature.
4. Planting trees around the house can also keep the temperature down. It can even make your property more aesthetically pleasing. This is a natural way of keeping your house cool. You can help save the environment too.
5. Replace air filters. You should inspect your air filters and clean them whenever they get dirty. Replacing dirty or faulty air filters is another option. Air conditioners put in more effort when they have dirty air filters. Therefore, replacing dirty air filters can help you save energy and money.
6. Keep your lights turned off. Lights that are turned on generate heat as a byproduct. Keeping your lights to a minimum can help keep your home cooler.
7. Add insulation. You should place insulation on air conditioning ducts that are located in places that are unconditioned (e.g. attics, garages). This is a great way to keep your house cooler.

Saving Energy: The Big Picture
I first want to thank you for taking the time to read this “Green Tip” newsletter. Since my realization that energy costs will continue to soar and home ownership is becoming more and more difficult to achieve, I have set out on a mission to learn as much as I can about
ways to save energy and pass it along each month with a simple tip of advice that most of you will be able to accomplish with very little effort. Look for a tip each month and I promise by years end, you will feel the difference in your home and see the difference in your check book. Should you have any questions regarding this green tip or want additional advice, please contact me and I can provide the facts that are necessary to achieve an energy efficient home.

CFLs vs. Incandescent bulbs (Costs vs. Efficiency)
Making your home more energy efficient without a game plan is like
taking a trip without a road map: you’ll eventually reach your
destination, but it will take you longer, be more of a hassle and cost
you more. Let’s talk about smarter lighting in your home or business:
CFLs(compact fluorescent bulbs) vs. Incandesent bulbs: the problem
with standard incandescent bulbs is that most of the energy consumed
to light the bulb, (over 80%), goes into creating heat , not light and
this does more to the home in a negative way than any benefit from the
light itself. The exact opposite of the whole energy efficiency game
plan! A CFL bulb will run on 15 watts of electricity compared to 60
watts for an incandescent bulb and will produce 60% more light and 95%
less heat. While the cost of CFLs are higher, you have to consider the
life span of the investment not only in costs of the bulb but also in
the savings:

Costs:
CFL average costs: $2.50 with annual operating costs of $12 or $14.50. Incandescent average costs: $0.75 with annual operating costs of $48 or $48.75

As you can see, a CFL will pay for itself in approximately 500 hours or (about 4 months if used 4 hours a day)

Other tips with lighting are:
- Dim the lights
- 3-way fixtures
- Reduce watts per bulb (ex: 40-60 watt compared to 75-100)
- Warm white over cool white

Please visit our website at www.ecostarfoam.com for more energy saving tips and listing of services or feel free to contact me on my personal cell number at 504-383-3261 for a free, no obligation energy audit.

Home insulation has become a major home improvement project adopted by maximum home owners. Insulating your house helps you save energy by making your house energy efficient. Typically maximum homes are insulated with fiberglass insulation, however many are now shifting to the very efficient industrial spray foam insulation for better facilities. Studies reveal that spray foam insulation seals your house better than other insulations in the market. It may cost you little more than the regular insulation materials but it’s definitely worth it.

The most important reason that people prefer to get spray foam insulation is because it saves money. Although spray foam insulation cost more during installation the money you invest is returned through the savings you make on the energy bills for life. Spray foam insulation closes the gaps that are a major reason for air leakage. This reduces your usage of appliances like heaters and air-conditioners; thus reducing the amount on your monthly energy bills.

The gaps spray foam insulation covers helps in preventing seepage of warm or cool air from the house. Hence you end up using less of heating or cooling appliances that consume most of the energy. So spray foam insulation not only saves you money but also valuable energy that needs to be conserved today. People can easily cover the cost spent on the installation within five years of savings on the energy bills.

The gaps in your house also form an inlet for moisture, mold and mildew. Spray foam insulation when sprayed in these gaps forms a very hard barrier that prevents such agents from entering your house. They form a health hazard to the residents of the house. Thus insulating your house with spray foam also helps you to keep the family healthy.

As compared to any of the insulation products in the market, spray foam insulation has the maximum R-value. Basically R-value of insulation lets the consumer know its thermal resistance, in this case the ability of the insulation to keep the house cool in summers and warm in winters. When compared to the traditional fibreglass insulation, spray foam gives 30% better insulation.

Spray foam is made of a material that is liquid when sprayed and expands to a size 100 times larger than the original volume on exposure with oxygen. This feature of the product helps it to reach the remotest corners and crack to give a complete seal to the house. Also the seal formed is so strong that it gives your house better stability. It acts like glue to the studs of the home. This keeps your home better resistance to calamities like winds, storms and hurricanes. Also the spray foam is so hard that even insects can’t burrow through it, thus keeping your house pest free.

However these benefits are best enjoyed when spray foam is installed by a professional as the material is difficult to handle and needs professionals and sophisticated tools to apply. Hence hiring a professional company for its expert services is a great idea. EcoStarFoam.com is a leading service provider for spray foam insulation installation. Our team of professionals use durable spray foam of various well known brands that cover every cavity in your house and make your home energy efficient. We are well known for our top quality services in New Orleans, Louisiana and surrounding area.

Spray foam insulation has its own wide spread advantages as compared to other kind of insulation available in the market. Spray foam blocks airflow by expanding and sealing all cracks, holes and apertures. It serve as almost perfect vapor barrier and that too with a  better permeability rating than plastic sheeting vapor barriers thus reducing the build up of moisture, which causes mold growth.  It increases structural stability in very similar manner to wet-spray cellulose also it can be applied even in small quantities wherever needed. Spray foam can be used in places where loose-fill cannot be used such as between joists and rafters. When spray foam is used between rafters it covers up the protruding nails from the underside of the casing, decreasing chances of getting injured. One of the most important bonus with spray foam is that can fill wall cavities in finished walls without tearing the walls apart. Spray foam insulation makes your home more comfortable and healthier place to live in and has a higher R-value than other insulators so it provides better insulation. It decreases energy consumption hence decreasing energy bills. Spray foam improves air quality and is permanent in nature additionally it also provides sound insulation for residential and commercial buildings.