Air sealing and lighting are the two easiest and most cost effective ways to lower your monthly energy bill. Adding a little insulation would be next best investment. Adding insulation always seems like a daunting task, something that was done when the house was built and you can’t do anything to change that now, right? Wrong. There are lots of ways of adding insulation around your house to make it retain its heat/cooling a little longer.
Just like your mother said, you lose most of you heat through the top so always wear a hat when it’s cold. Your mother was right. You need much more insulation in the attic of your house than you need anywhere else. Luckily, depending on how your house is built, your attic is the easiest place to add insulation. If your house is like most homes, you have exposed insulation laying on the floor of your attic. Whether it is blown in or batt insulation, you can always augment it with a few more inches, and adding insulation here will give you the biggest savings on you energy bills. Blown in insulation gets flatter over time, and as the thickness decreases so does its ability to keep you warm. Adding a few more inches is as simple as renting the machine at one of the big box hardware stores and blowing it in yourself. Just remember to wear a mask and might I suggest, a tyvek suit, with hood, trust me.
There are also attic blankets that can help or even spray foam insulation on the underside of your roof. If you are feeling a little flustered about which way to turn because of all the choices, rely on the advice of a Home Energy Auditor to help you decide which type is for you.
When you go to bed on a chilly night, do you prefer your blanket suspended a couple of inches above your body? No? Your house doesn’t like it that way either. Take a look at the insulation in your crawlspace. Is it snug up against the floor of your house? Probably not. It is almost impossible to install insulation under a floor so that it functions properly. That is why I exclusively recommend conditioned crawlspaces and forget all about the insulation under the floor. If you do rely on insulation under your floor, purchase and add the small support brackets that help hold it snug against your floor. Be careful though, remember that compressed insulation has less insulative value.
There are some solutions for walls and even more for knee walls but you really need to speak to a professional to get advice tailored to your particular house. Give me a call, I’d love to help. E.guinn@DanGuinnHomes.com So you don’t think insulation is sexy? Maybe you can’t take the ladies up to the attic to show off your insulation, but you can always show them your extremely low energy bills! Bigger isn’t always better.
