Does It Matter Who Installs Your
Insulation?
Insulation is permanent, critical, and invisible - hidden in your walls,
floors, and ceilings. The discomfort of a poorly insulated home is most
often due to the use of inferior insulation products or to the improper
installation by poorly trained workers. That is why you must be able to
trust your insulator to have the knowledge and experience to do the job
right. When insulating your home, it is best to choose a company where the
installer deals directly with the customer from estimate to finished product
rather than relying on a profit motivated salesperson to push the products
based upon commission.
Most homes, even newer homes, may be
improperly or poorly insulated.
Should I Insulate my Home?
First, check the insulation in
your attic, ceilings, exterior and basement walls, floors, and crawl
spaces to see if it meets the levels recommended for your area.
Insulation is measured in R-values—the higher the R-value, the better
your walls and roofs will resist the transfer of heat.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recommends ranges of R-values based
on local heating and cooling costs and climate conditions in different
areas of the nation. For a more accurate and simpler method
of determining your insulation needs, try the
Interactive ZIP Code Insulation Program, which uses your zip code
and some information about your house to tell you where to add
insulation. The program was developed by the
Energy Division of the Oak Ridge National
Laboratory. State and local codes in some parts of the country may
require lower R-values than the DOE recommendations, which are based on
cost-effectiveness.
Although insulation can be made
from a variety of materials, it usually comes in four types—batts,
rolls, loose-fill, and rigid foam boards. Each type is made to fit in a
different part of your house. Batts are made to fit between the studs in
your walls or between the joists of your ceilings or floors. Batts are
made of fiber glass. Fiber glass is manufactured from sand and recycled
glass. Rolls or blankets are also usually made of fiber glass and
can be laid over the floor in the attic.
Rigid foam boards are made of
polyisocyanurate, extruded polystyrene (XPS or blueboard), expanded
polystyrene (EPS or beadboard), or other materials. These boards are
lightweight, provide structural support, and generally have an R-value
of 4 to 7 per inch. Rigid board insulation is made to be used in
confined spaces such as exterior walls, basements, foundation and stem
walls, concrete slabs, and cathedral ceilings.
The easiest and most
cost-effective way to insulate your home is to add insulation in the
attic. To find out if you have enough attic insulation, measure the
thickness of insulation. If there is less than R-22 (7 inches of fiber
glass or rock wool or 6 inches of cellulose) you could probably benefit
by adding more. Most U.S. homes should have between R-22 and R-49
insulation in the attic. In Massachusetts you should have at least an
R30 - R38.
If your attic has ample
insulation and your home still feels drafty and cold in the winter or
too warm in the summer, chances are you need to add insulation to the
exterior walls as well. This is a more expensive measure that usually
requires a contractor, but it may be worth the cost if you live in a
very hot or cold climate.
You may also need to add
insulation to your crawl space. Either the walls or the floor above the
crawl space should be insulated.
