Summer is upon us and for most of the world, that means rising temperatures and soaring energy bills. Fight back this year by updating the insulation in your home.
You may be thinking, “I already have insulation why would I put more in or redo what I have”.
Well, that is a great question with an even better answer. The simple version is to save money. Factors such as how old your home is, or what level of code the builder used when insulating your home can make a big difference in your energy efficiency.
If your home is older your insulation could have settled over time causing its effectiveness at retarding heat or blocking cold could be reduced. Or if there are holes in the outside moisture could have gotten in over time and causes mildew to form and reduce your home’s efficiency.
Depending on where you live your home could have more or less insulation based on your local and state codes. Remember those regulations are minimums set. There is no reason you can’t increase the insulation in your home to have better energy efficiency.
The amount of effectiveness your insulation has is called an R-Value. The R-Value is based on how much heat the insulation can block. The thicker the insulation the higher the R-Value.
Heat moves from warm areas to cold. So if you are trying to heat your home in the winter your heat will try to find ways to the coldest parts of your home such as your attic or even outside if it can find a path. During the winter the outside heat will look for ways to get into the cooler areas of your home. Insulation acts as a barrier and either reflects that heat or absorbs it.
So small holes in the insulation of your home from water damage or settling insulation act like holes in a ship. Though in this case instead of water sinking a ship it’s hot air causing your air conditioning unit to run more often and raise your cooling costs.
Updating your r-value.
When updating your insulation remember that the r-value for your walls should be R-19 and your roof should be R-30 to R-40. Now, these are not hard and fast rules.
There is nothing (Aside from your budget) stopping you from taking it up to R-30 for your walls, and r-60 for your roof. Imagine the energy efficiency that would give you.
Types of insulation can affect your R-Values.
When looking to increase your R-Value another factor is the type of insulation you are using. Different insulations will require a different thickness to achieve the same R-Value so make sure you do some homework before ordering anything. So remember that you don’t have to fight the sun the rest of the summer. Consider boosting your homes insulation levels to something more effective. It will cost you upfront but once it’s done you will save on heating and cooling cost as well as maintenance on your home heating/cooling system from not having to run as long and as hard.
