Department Of Energy Attic Insulation

In unfinished attic spaces insulate between and over the floor joists to seal off living spaces below.

Department of energy attic insulation.

Bulky materials resist conductive and to a lesser degree convective heat flow in a building cavity. Blown into place using special equipment sometimes poured in. Learn more about where to insulate. A qualified home energy auditor will include an insulation check as a routine part of a whole house energy assessment.

Benefits of insulation on average you can save up to 20 on your home s heating and cooling costs or up to 10 on its total energy costs by adding insulation to attics floors crawl spaces and accessible basement rim joists and by reducing unwanted air leaks all around your house. 1a attic access door. Insulation level are specified by r value. Rigid foam boards trap air or another gas to resist conductive heat flow.

Insulation is literally built into the home s walls creating high thermal resistance. Types of insulation insulation comes in many different. Loose fill insulation must be applied using an insulation blowing machine in either open blow applications such as attic spaces or closed cavity applications such as those found inside existing walls or covered attic floors. R value is a measure of insulation s ability to resist heat traveling through it.

An energy assessment also known as a home energy audit will also help identify areas of your home that are in need of air sealing. The higher the r value the better the thermal performance of the insulation. Before you insulate you should make sure that your home is properly air sealed. Mineral rock or slag wool.

Insulation materials run the gamut from bulky fiber materials such as fiberglass rock and slag wool cellulose and natural fibers to rigid foam boards to sleek foils. The table below shows what levels of insulation are cost effective for different climates and locations in the home.