Home and Attic Insulation
Is your attic costing you money?
Does your home need more insulation? Unless your home was constructed with special attention to energy efficiency, adding insulation will probably reduce your utility bills. Much of the existing housing stock in the United States was not insulated to the levels used today. Older homes are likely to use more energy than newer homes, leading to higher heating and air conditioning bills.
Adding insulation to your home is a simple investment that could save you up to 20% on your utility bills and provide benefits for as long as you own your home. The Energy Star® Home Sealing program, sponsored nationally by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), recommends adding insulation and sealing air leaks to improve energy efficiency and comfort at home, while helping to protect the environment.
What is R-value?
Insulation is specified by its thermal resistance or R-value. R means resistance to heat flow. The higher the R-value the greater the insulation. The amount of insulation you need depends on the region you live and the type of heating and cooling you use. The U.S. Department of energy has established minimum recommendations for six distinct parts of the country. The St. Louis area is recommended to have at least an R-49 (see chart below).
Why Insulate Your Attic?Heating and cooling energy accounts for 50 to 70% of the energy used in the average American home. Inadequate insulation and air leakage are leading causes of energy waste in most homes. Insulation:
- will earn a 10% tax credit up to $ 1500.00 (energy star rated).
- saves money and our nation's limited energy resources
- makes your house more comfortable by helping to maintain a uniform temperature throughout the house, and
- makes walls, ceilings, and floors warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
The amount of energy you conserve will depend on several factors: your local climate; the size, shape, and construction of your house; the living habits of your family; the type and efficiency of the heating and cooling systems; and the fuel you use. Once the energy savings have paid for the installation cost, energy conserved is money saved - and saving energy will be even more important as utility rates go up.
This page will help you to understand how insulation works, what different types of insulation are available, and how much insulation makes sense for your climate. There are many other things you can do to conserve energy in your home as well. The Department of Energy offers many web sites to help you save energy by sealing air leaks, selecting more energy-efficient appliances, etc.
Heat flows naturally from a warmer to a cooler space. In winter, the heat moves directly from all heated living spaces to the outdoors and to adjacent unheated attics, garages, and basements - wherever there is a difference in temperature. During the summer, heat moves from outdoors to the house interior. To maintain comfort, the heat lost in winter must be replaced by your heating system and the heat gained in summer must be removed by your air conditioner. Insulating ceilings, walls and floors decreases the heating or cooling needed by providing an effective resistance to the flow of heat.
Where and How MuchAdding more insulation where you already have some, such as in an attic, will save energy. You can save even greater amounts of energy if you install insulation into places in your home that have never been insulated. These might include an un-insulated floor over a garage or crawlspace, or a wall that separates a room from the attic. Your AGC Contracting representative can give you general guidance regarding the appropriate amount of insulation you should add to your home.
Moisture Control and VentilationWe talk about moisture control while discussing insulation because wet insulation doesn't work well. Also, insulation is an important part of your building envelope system, and all parts of that system must work together to keep moisture from causing damage to the structure or being health hazards to the occupants. For example, mold and mildew grow in moist areas, causing allergic reactions and damaging buildings.
When Is Moisture a Problem?When moist air touches a cold surface, some of the moisture may leave the air and condense, or become liquid. If moisture condenses in your attic, you will not be able to see the water, but it can cause a number of problems. Adding insulation can either cause or cure a moisture problem, which can happen within your attic. On the other hand, the new temperature profile could prevent condensation and help keep your attic drier than it would have been.
Why Do I Need Attic Ventilation?
It may seem crazy to add insulation for warmth and then purposely allow cold air to enter the attic through roof and gable vents, but this combination is the tool to a durable and energy-efficient house. Here's why: in the winter, allowing a natural flow of outdoor air to ventilate the attic helps keep it cooler, which reduces the potential for ice damming (snow that melts off a roof caused by an attic that is too warm and then re-freezes at the gutters, causing an ice dam that can damage the roof and potential leaks). Proper insulation and air sealing also keeps attics cold in winter by blocking the entry of heat and moist air from below. In the summer, natural air flow in a well-vented attic moves super-heated air out of the attic, protecting roof shingles and removing moisture. The insulation will resist heat transfer into the house.
Facts about Fiberglass
Like all other building materials, insulation is also subject to change. Millions of dollars are spent for research and development in this regard by major manufacturers.
Fiberglass insulation is by itself an exceptional innovation. Fiberglass insulation is primarily made up of sand, which is one of the most plentiful products on this planet and recycled glass. And while we are talking about energy efficiency, the amount of energy consumed in manufacturing fiberglass insulation is very little compared to the amount of energy that the insulation can save you over the life of the product.
(For every BTU used in the manufacturing of fiberglass insulation, 12 BTU’s per year are saved for the life of the house.) Saving energy is a benefit to the environment, as we are all learning. Lesser energy used, lesser power plants necessary, lower rate of pollutant emission.
Noise control is an additional benefit of Fiberglass insulation. Transmission of noise is effectively checked by Fiberglass insulation, used usually in furnaces and air delivery duct systems of houses.
Fiberglass insulation powers measure is its R-value. Fiberglass does not settle with time.
Installed properly, Fiberglass insulation is safe. Although there shall be no allergic reaction, fiber sensitivity varies from person to person. In accordance with requirements of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health administration (OSHA), the Fiberglass insulation packages display cancer-warning labels.
For more information on the adequate levels of insulation for your home,
contact us for a free consultation. We provide home insulation in St. Louis, St. Charles, O' Fallon, St. Peters, Chesterfield, Wildwood, South County, North County and West County.