If you’re consuming a lot of money working on your Temple City rental home’s HVAC system to make sure it is in good working order, yet are still not seeing the effects you want out of the furnace or air conditioner, you might be considering you need a new HVAC unit. What you might actually lack is better insulation in your rental property.
Homes that are poorly insulated can instantly become maintenance nightmares, particularly in climates with extreme temperatures. Higher utility bills and constant repair calls can quickly push quality tenants away. Few renters want to stay in a house that is drafty and unable to maintain a comfortable temperature or one that necessitates constant HVAC work. By improving the insulation in your rental property, you can create a practical, comfortable rental property and lower your tenant’s energy bills at the same time.
A home that is properly insulated is better able to endure many years of weather with less maintenance and repair. According to Energy Star, the right kind (and amount) of insulation can reduce outside noise, prevent pollen, dust, and insects from entering the home, control humidity levels more easily, and even reduce roof damage from ice buildup. But having sufficient insulation also means that you are placing less strain on your HVAC system, ending in cheaper maintenance and repair costs and a longer life for your HVAC unit.
Industry experts reckon that most homes in the United States have significant air leaks. Even small holes and gaps can add up to significant predicaments. Eventually, these “small” air leaks are the same as keeping a window open every day of the year. It is a universal understanding that HVAC systems cannot run efficiently when windows are open, and the same is true if your rental property is leaking air around plumbing, through light fixtures, or around doors or windows.
The good news is that it’s not tough to verify your rental property and determine whether or not you need better insulation. Simply going up into the attic and checking to see if your insulation is covering the floor joists or not can help. A useful rule of thumb is that if you can see the floor joists between blown-in insulation, you probably don’t have enough. If your attic has insulation batting, you can read the R-value printed on it or measure the depth with a measuring tape. You can then use an insulation table to ascertain whether you’ve got the right amount of insulation in your rental home’s attic.
Checking exterior walls is also not a complicated process. To see what kind of insulation you’ve got, remove an outlet cover and look into the gap around the outlet box with a flashlight. You should be able to see if there is any insulation in the wall, and even how thick it is. Be sure to replicate this method for all exterior walls, and on every floor of the home. Just because the insulation is present in one wall doesn’t mean that it is in all of them.
If you find that your rental property is not properly insulated, it is fairly economical to have more added to existing walls and attics. But the big payoff comes with a significantly lower strain on your HVAC system and lower energy bills. Attaching some batting to your attic, floor, or filling exterior walls with blown-in or foam insulation can help the house leak less air, making it easier for your HVAC unit to maintain a consistent temperature. Lower energy bills, in turn, will help you to attract and retain quality tenants, who will greatly appreciate the utility savings over many months and even years to come.
Figuring out whether your property requires better insulation, and then knowing what kind to get if it does, can take a lot of time, though. This is why at Real Property Management East San Gabriel Valley, we will help you thoroughly check each rental property for current insulation levels and then connect you with quality home services vendors who can help you create an energy-efficient and attractive rental property. For more information, contact us online or call us at 626-600-2884 today.
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