Insulation - A Simple Way to Slash Your Utility Bills
Insulation - A Simple Way to Slash Your Utility Bills
By Jon Farrell
Utility bills are a concern for us all, more now than ever before. If you built or bought your house more than ten years ago, the cost of heating it was probably fairly low on your list of considerations, it's amazing how times have changed!
As energy costs rise and our oil and gas become more scarce, we're being forced to take a look at how we consume energy. Human nature being what it is, it tends to be our bills and costs that force this re-evaluation as opposed to our concern for the environment! It's a shame to say be hey we're only human, our motivations may not be so admirable but the objective is the same, to run a more energy efficient home.
The chances are that there's huge scope for you to improve your energy efficiency if your run a standard (if there is such a thing) American home. The first area to address, that will have the biggest impact on your 'carbon footprint' (the latest buzz word) is your level of home insulation.
Houses more than ten years old and in a lot of cases younger houses are sadly lacking in their insulation provision. This is mainly due to buyer ignorance of the importance of good insulation combined with some contractors desire to cut corners and increase profits. Fortunately today's home buyer is a lot more knowledgeable and thus the standard of new home insulation is a lot higher today.
But what if you're one of the unfortunates that have poor insulation throughout their house? Well the good news is that there is a retrofit solution for pretty much every zone in the house. Starting with the most critical area, the attic, is a good idea. A thorough inspection of the attic should be carried out to ensure full coverage.
The most widely used attic insulation is mineral wool (rock wool or slag wool). You should be achieving an insulation R value of approximately R38 to adequately prevent heat loss. Insulating materials are classified by the R value they provide per inch of thickness, therefore simple arithmetic will tell you what depth of a given material is required to provide the required standard. While upgrading your attic it's well worth considering radiant barrier insulation as well as the more standard thermal insulation. Radiant barrier insulation is recognisable as shiny aluminum foil.
Also commonly used throughout the home is blown in cellulose insulation. Consisting of finely shredded cardboard and paper, treated to prevent rotting, blown in insulation is a great problem solver for retrofit projects. It tackles the problem of insulating cavity walls after construction. Simply drilling a small access hole will allow a nozzle to be inserted and the cellulose blown in. A simple but extremely effective solution. It's also widely used in attics, however it can be quite messy in an open attic situation and subsequently limit the usability of the attic space.
Retrofitting your home with insulation or upgrading existing insulation is one of those DIY jobs that can be done relatively effectively, but it takes time and care. It's all about attention to detail with insulation and ensuring there are no thermal leaks. Small uninsulated zones can have a detrimental effect on the overall insulation effect for the house. If in doubt a reputable installer or contractor could be money well spent.
Jon Farrell writes further about various commercial and domestic insulation options at http://www.theinsulationguide.com
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