You may think that since we are in the depths of winter, this is a bad time to think about insulation. Wrong!! If you recently looked at your heating bills and almost had a coronary, this is the perfect time to think about beefing up the insulation in your home. You should strongly consider insulating your home if you
- pay excessive energy bills
- are building a new house or adding onto an existing one
- have an older home and have not insulated it recently
- are bothered by outside noises (insulation helps muffle cars, people, animals, ect.)
- are concerned a out efficient use of energy on the environment
To check the insulation in your home, simply check the attic area, accessible through a hatch in your ceiling. To check the insulation in the walls, take off a cover to an electrical outlet (being careful not to touch any of the inside components!) and peer inside to check the insulation levels.
The level of insulation you should have in your home depends on where it is located. For our location (North Central Kansas and South Central Nebraska), the US Department of Energy recommends R-49 in the attic, R-18 in the walls, R-25 in the floors, and R-11 on the interior walls of the basement (visit www.energy.gov/yourhome.htm for specifics). Insulating the ceiling (attic) space of your house is relatively easy and can be done in the colder months. Depending on what is already there, blow-in insulation is typically your best bet. Ideally, you need approximately 18 inches of insulation to get the best result. (Please Note: If you have recessed lighting, be sure your lighting is approved to have insulation put around it before blowing insulation on top of it. If it is not, be sure that there is 3 inches of clearance around the fixture. If you put insulation around a non-approved fixture, you may have created a very real fire hazard!) If you do much more than 18 inches of blow-in insulation, you run the risk of wasting money and resources. Batt insulation works well if you have no insulation (never insulated or new construction), as you can roll it in between the studs and then use blow in on top of that. If your house still feels drafty (in the winter) or unusually warm (in the summer), you most likely need to have the walls insulated. Unfortunately, this is not as easy as ceiling insulation. It can be done from the inside or outside of the house, and usually is done best by a contractor.
By insulating your house, you are not only saving money on your heating and cooling bills every month, you are saving valuable energy resources (and in turn, saving the environment!). Every little bit helps us preserve the environment for us and all of our future generations to come.
