BUILDING ENVELOPE
Properly insulating your home reduces heating and cooling costs and makes your home more comfortable year-round.
Insulation is the foundation of any energy-efficient home. The right amount of insulation in the right places — combined with proper air sealing — keeps conditioned air inside, prevents drafts, and lowers utility bills.
The R-value depends on the type of insulation and includes its material, thickness, and density. When calculating the R-value of a multilayered installation, add the R-values of the individual layers. Installing more insulation in your home increases the R-value and the resistance to heat flow.
The effectiveness of an insulation’s resistance to heat flow also depends on how and where the insulation is installed. Insulation that is compressed will not provide its full rated R-value. The overall R-value of a wall or ceiling will be somewhat different from the R-value of the insulation itself because some heat flows around insulation through studs and joists in wood-framed buildings (called thermal bridging).
The amount of insulation or R-value you’ll need depends on your climate, type of heating and cooling system, and the section of the house you plan to insulate.
Insulation effectiveness depends on where it’s installed. The chart above identifies the recommended R-value for each climate zone and each part of the home — attics, walls, floors, basements, and crawl spaces. Pair the insulation with proper air-sealing for maximum results.
Sealing leaks and adding insulation to the building envelope are some of the most cost-effective ways to improve home efficiency, comfort, and durability. The illustrations below show common areas where the envelope can be improved.
If you add up all the hidden air leaks in your home, they can equal a hole the size of an open window. A blower-door test combined with infrared imaging exposes those leaks so we can target the right spots before adding insulation. Sealing the envelope first makes the insulation actually do its job.
Most homeowners overpay because they don’t get the right diagnosis first. Let us change that.
