December 15, 2020
If you often feel the chill in your place even when the heater is working on full blast, chances are that your place is under-insulated. Some other signs that you lack proper home insulation include:
Fluctuating indoor temperatures – Having inconsistent room temperatures throughout the house is a sign of poor insulation.
High energy bills – Warm air escaping via damaged or under insulation roof and walls increases your energy consumption.
Cold walls, ceilings, and floors - Drywall and paneling inside the house feels damp and cold to touch.
Chilly drafts–Heat escaping from the house forces cold air from the outside to enter the rooms through gaps around window frames and doorways.
Ensuring Proper Home Insulation
Achieving the right R-Value for your home insulation is the key to maintaining a comfortable living space at all times.
R-Value helps measure how well the given insulation can prevent the flow of heat into and out of the house.
It is usually expressed as an air trapping coefficient per inch of thickness. This tells the temperature difference between the warmer surface and the colder surface of a barrier. The barrier, in most cases, is the drywall ceiling or sheetrock exterior walls of a building.
A higher R-Value means better insulation performance and vice versa.
R-Values differ between types of insulation materials. For example, 10 inches of cellulose blown-in insulation has an R-Value of approximately 32, i.e., R-32, whereas 10 inches of fiberglass blown-in insulation is approximately R-26. However, R-Value for the same material can also vary between manufacturers.
The general rule of thumb is to maintain an R-value of approximately R-40 to R-50 in your attic. However, certain factors, such as your local climate, depth of basement, and wall thickness, play an important role in determining the actual R-Value insulation that your home requires.