Keep Warm in the Winter with Insulation from GNI

December 04, 2019

The cold, snowy months of winter are always inevitable. Like a lot of people, you might struggle to keep your house warm during these months without breaking the bank. With winter insulation from GNI, you can easily reduce your energy costs and live in a more comfortable home all year long. Also, with our insulation consultants by your side, you can be sure that you are targeting the right upgrades to help you keep warm for the lowest upfront investment cost.

When a home has been upgraded with professionally installed winter insulation, you experience a number of benefits. The energy efficiency of the home improves, meaning lower utility bills and less stress placed on the furnace / HVAC systems. The home also becomes easier to keep at a comfortable temperature, and has improved air quality - leading to a lower risk of sick building syndrome. And it also has a higher market value, since homes that have been upgraded for energy efficiency are well valued by potential homebuyers.

To help homeowners get started on making any type of home upgrades - whether that involves installing new winter insulation to keep warm during the winter, or simply adding a bit of air sealing - GNI offers free in-home assessments from our expert insulation consultants. This provides you with a solid foundation for making home improvements, and our consultants are happy to answer any questions you may have about the energy performance of your home. To schedule your appointment for a free in-home assessment, please contact our Customer Experience Team at 1-800-265-1914, or online at www.gni.ca/contact.

What is the Stack Effect? Will Winter Insulation Help?

The stack effect is a term used to describe how air flows within a building. When it is cold outside and you are trying to keep warm, the stack effect can make it harder for you to keep your home at a comfortable temperature. As the warm air inside a home rises, it eventually finds a way to escape through unsealed air leaks within the home’s attic. This causes cold exterior air to be pulled in through any unsealed cracks in the basement or foundation, in order to replace the air that has escaped through the attic.  

In the summer months, the opposite effect occurs. Cold air conditioned air sinks to the bottom of the home and finds air leaks in the basement where it is able to escape. This causes hot and moist air to be pulled in through cracks in the attic in order to replace the air that was lost. Whether it is the summer or the winter, the stack effect has the ability to negatively impact the energy efficiency and comfort levels of an entire home.

However, with professionally installed winter insulation, along with air sealing upgrades, any homeowner can effectively control the stack effect within their home - working to reduce energy costs, unwanted drafts, and improve comfort levels. With air leakage testing from GNI, you can easily target the exact areas of your home that need the most attention, allowing you to reduce the impact of the stack effect directly and avoid having to go on a wild goose chase to find the air leaks that are causing a problem.

Spray Foam Upgrades Help You Keep Warm Everyday

One of the most effective products for winter insulation is spray foam. With its extreme versatility, and its ability to provide strong thermal protection and an air barrier all in one, spray foam makes for a fantastic choice when making cost-effective home upgrades. If a homeowner is looking to improve their home’s winter insulation and level of air sealing, spray foam is often the number one choice recommended by our team of experts.

When you work with GNI, you can be sure that you are targeting the right upgrades specific to your home, while taking your goals, budget, and timeline into consideration. In terms of using spray foam for winter insulation, GNI can easily show you its benefits and costs for each application in your home. That means you can get a clear idea of how installing spray foam will improve the quality and affordability of your living space, and how it works to keep you warm each and every day.

To go one step even further towards targeting the most cost-effective upgrade options in your home, GNI will arrange for you to have a home energy audit conducted by a registered energy advisor. With a home energy audit, you receive a complete and in-depth look into the energy performance of your home, along with a list of upgrade suggestions that detail how you could most cost-effectively improve the energy performance of your home in particular. In other words, you are presented with a list of potential upgrades that include the benefits, costs, and expected returns of each individual suggestion - making it easy for you to see which upgrades will provide you with the biggest improvements for the lowest cost.

Prepare for Rising Energy Prices with GNI’s Rebate Experts

Currently, Ontario homeowners have the Home Efficiency Rebate program available to them; helping to make it more affordable for homeowners to upgrade their home’s energy efficiency. A total rebate of $5,000 is attainable, but in order to qualify, homeowners need to be customers of either Union Gas or Enbridge Gas, and have two home energy audits conducted (one before any upgrades start, and one after they have finished).

As energy prices rise or fluctuate, the effectiveness of strong energy efficiency becomes more apparent. The less energy that your home needs to consume in order to maintain a comfortable temperature the better, as it means that you will be less affected by any changes in energy prices. In terms of installing new winter insulation, the Home Efficiency Rebate program can make it even easier for you to see a return on your investment through energy savings - especially if energy prices rise any time in the future.

In many cases, the best rebates can be easily attained through spray foam upgrades and air sealing improvements, but for many homeowners who are looking for strong winter insulation to help them keep warm, they often use a combination of upgrades that specifically target the areas of their home that stand to see the biggest improvement. GNI’s expert consultants can help you determine the exact combination of upgrades to help you keep warm all year, improve your market value, and reduce the impact of rising energy prices.

If you have any questions about the benefits of winter insulation from GNI, or about the Home Efficiency Rebate program and how it helps to make home upgrades more affordable for Ontario homeowners, please contact our Customer Experience Team at 1-800-265-1914, or through the web at www.gni.ca/contact. Once you are in touch with a member of our Customer Experience Team, you can also schedule a time for a free in-home assessment to help you get started on your upgrades.