Insulate Your Home to Save Energy – Without Spending a Ton of Money
Posted on 22. Aug, 2009 by Anna in Energy Efficient Homes
If you are decided on having a home that saves energy and money at the same time, it’s a must for you to check your insulation system thoroughly.
Checking the insulation of your home is easy, and cost-effective.
One way of knowing whether you have a good insulation system is checking whether the construction technique and the materials used in creating the system can give you protection during the both the cold and the warm seasons.
The house must also control the moisture, as the insulation system prevents it from leaking air. You can get an idea of whether your insulation system works for you, by simply seeing whether you are comfortable inside your home. If you have invested in an efficient insulation system, as well as properly sealed the air leaks, you should feel comfortable when all other factors (such as heating and cooling) are operating properly.
Checking your insulation
When you check your insulation, see to it that you inspect the various parts of the house – including the crawl space, attic, floors, ceilings, basement walls, and the exteriors walls.
The insulation of the house is measured through the values. If your roof or walls have a great ability to resist heat, then this means that your insulation has a high R value. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the advisable R values differ from one area to another, due to climate conditions, and the costs for creating local cooling and heating systems.
Although there are different insulation recommendations given by the DOE, the requirements of your local state may be lesser than what the DOE advises. Most of requirements of local states are based on the cost-effectiveness of the insulation system.
On the other hand, you have the option to get a customized recommendation, to suit your own particular insulation needs.
The Energy Savers website has an Insulation Calculator which allows you to get various insulation recommendations by simply entering your zip code, and details on the type of home you have.
Places in your Home that Should be Insulated
There are at least five places in your home where an insulation system is needed the most. It starts with the attic, and moves down to the walls, the floor, the basement, and your crawl space if you have one. If you don’t have an attic floor, you can insulate the space right under your roof.
To read the next post in the Energy Efficiency Series, please visit What you should know before you insulate your home.
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