What You Need to Know About Insulating Your Home This Winter
We’ve been on a roll lately on how you can save money on your utility bill this winter, and we’d be remiss if we left out the subject of insulation. Insulating your home works along the same principle as the insulation in your travel coffee mug: it keeps the interior warmer for longer. When there’s less heat escaping, your home can be heated more efficiently.
As we said last week, leaks mean your heating system has to work harder and longer, and that amounts to higher costs both in terms of energy use and the toll it takes on your HVAC unit. Insulation is key to reducing this cost.
Insulation comes in a couple of different forms, but how do you know which one is right for you? Before you consider that, you’ll want to make sure you know how much insulation you’ll need, and it’s best to start by determining what R-value is recommended for your area. R-value is the maximum thermal performance needed to keep your home warm in winter and cool in summer, and it measures insulation’s ability to resist heat traveling through it. The higher the R-Value, the better the thermal performance of the insulation and the less energy you’ll waste heating and cooling your home.
Recommended R-Values vary depending on climate and location. For example, if you live in Florida, the recommended R-Value for an attic is around R30 to R49. If you live in Wisconsin, on the other hand, insulation for an attic should be within the R49 to R60 range.
You also need to consider where you need to add insulation. If it’s for a wall in a home that’s already built, you’ll most likely need blow-in insulation. If it’s for an existing attic or crawlspace, you may be able to use blanket insulation. If you need to insulate around pipes and wires, foam insulation might be best.
So now that you’ve determined these things, let’s take a look at the common types of insulation out there.
Fiberglass rolls
Fiberglass rolled insulation is the common, fuzzy, cotton-candy-looking insulation you buy in rolls at the hardware store, and it’s cheap and easy to install. It’s also non-combustible and basically flame retardant, making it a good choice for unfinished attics. Its applications can be somewhat limited, though.
The pros here are that fiberglass insulation is easy to use and can be installed in ceilings, unfinished floors, attic spaces, and crawl spaces. It’s also resistant to mold.
Its cons include the fact that it has a relatively low R-value-to-thickness ratio – between R-2.9 and R-3.8 per inch of thickness – so you may need to add 10-12 inches of insulation to achieve the right amount of insulation, which kind of cuts into its appeal in terms of low cost. If you’re in a cold climate, this may not work very well, and if you have finished spaces that require insulation, fiberglass may not be the easiest to install.
Blow-in insulation
This type of insulation is made up of small particles of fiber, foam, or other materials. It’s blown into spaces so it can be used for walls, ceilings, attics, and crawl spaces without much disruption. You can also more easily install it behind finished walls without tearing them down and redoing them, so it can be more cost-effective if this is what you need.
The pros here are that blow-in insulation is environmentally friendly since it’s made using recycled waste materials. It’s also a good choice for hard-to-reach areas where rolled insulation isn’t practical.
The cons are that it’s not quite as easy to do as laying rolled insulation. You’ll need to thoroughly air seal and possibly install soffit venting. Blown-in insulation can succumb to mold and rot if it comes in contact with a lot of moisture over an extended period of time, which is why it’s important to ensure the area is properly sealed before blowing. And unlike fiberglass rolls, which you can install yourself with proper precautions, most blow-in insulation must be installed by a professional.
Foam insulation
Liquid foam insulation is sprayed where it’s needed, after which it hardens into an effective insulation material. It can be blown into walls, onto attic surfaces, below a roof, or under floors. It’s particularly effective for pipes, small holes, and corners.
There are a lot of pros here, chief among them the fact that sprayed foam insulation can be twice as insulating as rolled insulation. It can fill small cavities to considerably reduce air leakage where any other type of insulation just wouldn’t do the job. You can spray it around pipes, wires, and window and doorframes to insulate even more.
The cons here are that this effectiveness comes at a cost. There are two types of sprayed-foam insulation: open-cell, and closed-cell. Closed-cell is the most effective, but it is also more expensive. Open-cell, while cheaper, can be susceptible to water absorption so you shouldn’t use it below ground level. Once you take that into account, you might find that a different type of insulation is more cost-effective than open-cell foam.
If you’re still wondering what type of insulation is going to work best for you, you can get an energy audit to determine what kind of insulation you need, where it should go, and what R-Value it should be. Your utility company may offer free or low-cost audits. You might be able to lay down rolled fiberglass insulation yourself, but you’ll probably need the help of a contractor to for the blown-in foam.
You can also check with your local utility company about any rebates they offer to help offset the cost of insulating your home. Many counties and states offer tax credits for insulating your home, as well, so you can help offset the initial cost that way.
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– Get It Right Solutions