Is Your Home Under Insulated?

The answer depends on a number of factors:

• Where you live — you’ll need a higher R-value if you live in the Northeast than if you live in Southern California.

• The age of your home (if your home is more than 10 years old, you likely need more)

• How your home is built — for example, is it a single-level or multi-level structure? Do you have cathedral ceilings? Is there a basement or is your home built on a slab?

• How you heat and cool your home — do you have a furnace, a central air conditioner, or a heat pump?

NAIMA has prepared a map showing thermal recommendations based on both the U.S. Department of Energy’s recommendations and the most recent minimum International Energy Conservation Code levels. Click here for R-value recommendations for optimal energy savings and comfort.

Adding more insulation above minimum requirements helps:

• Increase energy savings

• Provide greater noise control

• Control moisture which helps your house and roof last longer

If your home was built before energy costs started to escalate, its insulation levels may now be far below today’s recommendations for energy savings and comfort.

Recommended Levels of Insulation: 
As a way to help maximize the energy efficiency of both new and existing homes, NAIMA has prepared a map showing thermal recommendations based on both the U.S. Department of Energy’s recommendations and the most recent minimum International Energy Conservation Code levels.

Attics:
Use a ruler to measure the amount of insulation currently installed. If you have six inches or less, you probably need more. Consult the CABO/MEC guidelines on using attic cards and rulers. Proceed with caution when measuring insulation in your attic.

Walls and Floors (adjacent to an unheated space like a garage or basement):
In these places, the structural frame elements (the ceiling joists or wall framing boards) are often exposed, making it easy to examine the insulation (if any) and to measure the depth or thickness of the insulation.

Exterior Walls:
It is more difficult to inspect finished exterior walls. One method is to remove the cover plate for an electrical outlet and examine the area outside the outlet box. You should be able to see whether or not insulation is in the wall. Use caution.

Prior to building a home, it is important to spend some time talking to the builder about the home’s energy efficiency. And definitely ask about the insulation.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) home insulation rule requires the seller of a new home to provide information on the type, thickness, and R-value of the insulation that will be installed in each part of the house in every sales contract.* To keep initial selling prices competitive, many home builders offer the legal minimum (not optimal) levels of insulation.

* If the buyer signs a sales contract before the seller knows what type of insulation will be installed, or if there is a change of contract, the seller can give the buyer a separate receipt stating the information as soon as the seller finds out.

Questions To Ask Your Builder: 

• What type of insulation will be installed in the home?

• What areas of the home will be insulated?

• Does the insulation level meet recommended insulation levels?

Recommended Levels of Insulation: 
As a way to help maximize the energy efficiency of both new and existing homes, NAIMA has prepared a map showing thermal recommendations based on both the U.S. Department of Energy’s recommendations and the most recent minimum International Energy Conservation Code levels.

What Kind of Insulation Do Builders Use on Their Own Homes?
Professional Builder Magazine interviewed home builders to find out what products they used when they built their own dream houses.

To achieve the maximum thermal efficiency and comfort it is important to insulate any space were energy could be lost. For optimum energy savings and comfort, consider adding additional insulation to your home.

• Attics & Ceilings: 
Fiber glass insulation in attics and flat ceilings makes the home more resistant to energy loss and lowers energy bills. To achieve R-values of R-38 and higher, two layers of fiber glass batts can be used and their R-value combined. For example, an R-19 batt added to an R-30 will yield an R-49. When installing a second layer, always use unfaced insulation. Also, it is recommended that the second layer be applied across the joists. Fiber glass or mineral wool loose-fill insulation can also be used.

• Don’t Forget the Walls: 
Section sometimes overlooked in homes are walls between living spaces and unheated garages or storage rooms, dormer walls, and the portions of walls above ceilings of adjacent lower sections of split-level homes. Today’s fiber glass insulation products are manufactured to fit in both 2 x 4 and 2 x 6 construction.

• Areas that are often not insulated are floors over unheated or open spaces such as garages or porches, floors over unheated basements and the cantilevered portions of floors. Fiber glass batts can be used in these areas. When insulating floors over unheated basements or crawl spaces, faced products should be used and vapor retarders should face heated areas and be in contact with the subfloor.

• For finished basements, R-13 fiber glass batts can be used. Vapor retarders should face heated areas and be covered as soon as possible. For insulating foundation walls of heated crawl spaces, use either unfaced insulation where the building code does not require a vapor retarder, or insulation with a special facing recommended for exposed applications. The insulation should be fastened to the sill plate and draped down the wall. Verify that the walls are dry and do not leak ground moisture before insulated a basement.