It's heating up in Las Vegas, and it has plenty of homeowners anxious about their summer electricity bills. If you're likewise wondering how to lower electricity bills in summer, then one of the best places you might start is with your home insulation. About half of your utility bill goes to cooling your home during summer, so the last thing you want to do is see it being wasted on conditioning the outdoors.

Lowering Energy Usage with Proper Insulation

When you use your air conditioner to cool your home, you create a temperature difference between your home's insides and the environment outside. Unfortunately, nature likes to balance these temperatures out by pulling heat into your household while cool air escapes. The best way to prevent this is to ensure your home is properly insulated.

A Hot Attic Means a Hot House

Did you know that during the summer the attic in your Las Vegas home can reach stifling temperatures as high as 150 degrees Fahrenheit? And if you don't have the right insulation then the wood and drywall in your home will soak up all of the sun's heat and radiate it straight into your home. This means either you'll have a home that's overall hotter, or that your air conditioner will be forced to work in overtime to make up for the added heat load. If you want to lower electric bills, the first place to start is by properly buffering your attic with insulation.

The Right Insulation

Insulation can be bought in several different forms and types. For maximum efficiency and lower electric bills in Las Vegas you'll want minimum R-Values of R- 30 for your attic, R-11 for your walls, R-19 for raised floors and R-4.2 for your ductwork. If you have an older home, you may not have any attic insulation, or insulation hasn't been added in years and your current material has become too compressed and ineffective. With the right insulation, you can reduce your home cooling costs up to 20 percent.

Could Your Home Use More Insulation?

To discover whether your home might benefit from new insulation, consider taking our quick Insulation Quiz. And when you're ready to talk with a professional, contact First Quality Roofing & Insulation at 702.262.7847.