A huge deal of the nation’s energy bills peaks during the winter months. As if it wasn’t enough, surviving through the winter gets tougher year after year due to the constant rise of heating prices.
If your bank account is already suffering, there are several changes you can make to reduce energy costs (other than lowering the temperature on your thermostat). Hint: proper roof maintenance can make a lot of difference.
Here’s a list of 4 easy roof maintenance tips that can extend the life of your roof but also help you save a decent amount of money you would, otherwise, spend on energy bills.
Seal Leaks
You should seal all the roof leaks (if there are any) as soon as possible, ideally, before the first snow. If you spotted leaks days or months ago, contact a roofing professional to fix it without waiting any longer.
A leaky roof is an energy-inefficient roof that allows cold air to enter your home, which, further, reduces the inside temperature. At the same time, if you are constantly turning the thermostat up, trying to make the interior of your home more pleasant, yet, the house is not getting warmed up – you should definitely have a team of professionals inspect the issue.
Leaky roof issues can cause even bigger, structural damage to your roof while leakages also increase the level of humidity. In this case, you would have no other choice but to use humidity and moisture-regulating devices, such as dehumidifiers. The worst thing of all? These devices can only increase your monthly energy consumption.
Add/Repair Insulation
Insulation keeps cold air away during winter months and ensures that all the warmth stays inside your home. If your roof is not insulated, this could be the reason why your home is not energy efficient as much as you would want to. And, if your roof is insulated but the insulation has been damaged, you should have it repaired as soon as possible if you want to reduce those energy bills this winter.
Also, you should take the thickness of your insulation into account. Thicker insulation can save you around £500 per year compared to thinner insulation. Finally, insulation can also help with preventing ice dams and leaks so it makes great sense to invest it in.
If you insulate your attic area and roof deck (located underneath the roofing material), you will improve your home’s energy efficiency by 11%.
Improve Roof Ventilation
Ventilation is as important as insulation. Most people actually think that ventilation only prevents ice dams, however, it can also keep cold air outside, and make your home much more energy-efficient.
Failing to keep the outside air outside lowers the temperature in your home and puts pressure on your HVAC system that should work harder to maintain the desired temperature, which, ultimately, results in higher bill costs.
To improve roof ventilation and lower the pressure on your heating and cooling system, you can also install an energy-recovery or heat-recovery ventilator. ERV and HRV systems can help with improving your home’s energy efficiency by 9 to 12%. As an extra, ERVs and HRVs can also improve indoor air quality.
Repair or Entirely Replace Your Roof
If your roof is older than 30 years, the shingles are loose, cracked, or missing, moss has covered most of the shingles, and if the roof is sagging or leaking excessively, then you should either fix it or replace it (sorry, there’s no easy fix to this).
Although having a new roof installed requires investing a couple of thousand in it, doing so would save you money in the long run. Your investment would pay off within 5 to 10 years maximum. However, you should make wise decisions when it comes to choosing a roofing contractor. Look for experienced and reputable companies in your area, for example – Groom & Co.
Summary
It’s good to know that you don’t have to replace the entire roof to keep those energy bills under control. We, Groom & Co, are there to help you with this. Having any roof issues that could be making you use more energy than you should or can afford, make sure to contact us. Our team of experts will inspect the roof and suggest fixes that need to be made in order to boost your roof’s energy efficiency. We are based in Bromley but provide our services to clients based in Surrey, Kent, London, and South East England.
