Insulation

Insulation is a barrier that slows the transfer of warm air to cold air. That means it will help keep the heat in during the winter and the heat out during the summer. Obviously, the less your furnace and air conditioner run, the more money you save. Insulating material reduces heat transfer by trapping air inside of it. Air is not a good conductor for heat transfer.

How well a product reduces heat transfer is measured by R-Value. If you want to get technical about what R-value is and how it is calculated then check out this link. The article is on the technical side, and in my opinion, can be summed up as follows: The higher the R-value, the better the product reduces heat transfer.

TYPES OF PRODUCTS AVAIALBE.

There are multiple types of products available today. This link covers a lot of the materials that are out there. It also tells you where they are used and their R-Value. The most popular interior products are Blanket and Blown insulation.

Blanket is the “pink panther” stuff if your old enough to remember those commercials. It comes in the form of batts and is usually made of fiberglass. Batts are pieces that are precut to fit in a predetermined space. For example some batts are made to fit in the stud cavities in your walls. Others are made to fit between your attic trusses. The advantage of batts is that it is fairly easy to install because you only need a knife and a staple gun. In addition, you can install it on your own. (By the way, the stuff makes you unbelievably itchy. It can get in your nose and throat as well. So where a long sleeve shirt and a mask when installing fiberglass. Some suppliers carry itch free products. It usually costs extra, but it might be worth it to you. Ask your supplier about itch free products). The down side is you have to be careful to make the batts fit tight in every part of the wall, attic, or floor. Any spot that is not covered is a place to loose heat. There are a lot of spaces in a home that are difficult to get batts into.

Blown insulation made from cellulose is a very efficient product. It comes in bags and is made from recycled news papers(making it environmentally friendly). A fire retardant is added for obvious reasons. The advantage of cellulose is that it is easy to get it in every crack and cranny of your home. The disadvantage is that you need two people to install it and you need a machine to spread it. It can not be done properly by hand. The machine (often referred to as a hopper) will grind the cellulose into tiny pieces and blow it out of a hose. You will need one person in the attic working the hose and you will need one person on the ground putting bags of cellulose into the machine. When blowing cellulose, be sure to wear a mask. It is an extremely dusty product.

You have to be careful when working in the attic. If you step between the trusses, you will put your foot through the ceiling or worse, you could fall through onto the coffee table which happened to a friend of my partner.

ENERGY SAVINGS

Heating and cooling account for nearly 70% of all the energy usage in a home. Heating and cooling is lost through the ceiling, walls, windows and doors. If you have inadequate insulation, you could be spending up to twice as much money on utilities.

CHECKING YOUR HOME FOR PROPER AMOUNTS OF INSULATION

In the Lansing Mi. area we are in Zone 2. The minimum insulation code in our area is R-30 for ceilings. You should have at least 8 inches of cellulose or 12 inches of fiberglass in your attic to meet R-30. Measure from the top of the insulation down between the trusses to the drywall ceiling of the room below. Check the depth in several areas of the attic. If you have low spots, then you are loosing heat through those spots. If you don’t have the proper amount of cellulose or fiber glass in the attic, you are not only wasting money on utility bills, but you could be damaging the roof via ice damming. The warm air escaping through the attic heats your roof. Snow falls on the roof and melts instantly. Once the water reaches the eves, which are colder because heat rises, the water freezes. If you are getting more ice damning than your neighbors, then chances are excellent that you do not have enough insulation in your attic.

If you look at your basement wall, you will see the joists sitting on the concrete foundation. There should be batts between those joists placed vertically. This is a good area for basement heat loss.

Walls which require minimum of R-13, are much harder to check for proper insulation without removing dry wall. One suggestion is to remove a receptacle of switch cover and see if anyis visible anywhere around the box. But be careful, you can get electrocuted. Don’t stick anything in the box to help you move things around to look for it. If your walls don’t have enough insulation, then you will have to consult with a professional. Usually, small holes will be cut in the exterior of your home and cellulose will be blown in. Then the holes will be plugged. The down side is that the hole plugs are unsightly in my opinion. Some companies will cut the holes in the interior walls. This creates more repair, but if done correctly, you will never know the holes were there.

WHERE TO BUY INSULATION

I tend shop at Menards and 84 Lumber (6121 Aurelius Rd, Lansing, (517) 393-8400) Both have good prices, both deliver, and both will let you use their blower for free if you purchase enough product. Menards has sales a couple times a year. You can save a substantial amount of money if you catch one of their sales.

Here is another link for insulation information. It also give tips for those of you who want to "do it yourself".

With the information and links provided here, you should have more information than you ever wanted. But, if there is a question you have that is not covered, then please contact me, and I will get you an answer.

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