Typically, the best place to start is in the attic. In the winter, the greatest heat loss is usually to the attic – and it's not all about insulation. Although cellulose insulation far outperforms all other attic insulation on the market, it plays a very important part in keeping heat in the home.
The reasons your house is cold even with the heat on could be because of poor insulation, your furnace not working properly, rooms with high ceilings, or your heating system doesn't cover the whole house. Each of these issues can prevent your home from properly heating.
The range of loss rates given by DOE for uninsulated typical dwellings is 15,000 to 30,000 BTU/degree-day.
As much as 85 percent of the heat lost in a house passes through the attic. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that boosting attic insulation can lower heating costs by 10 to 50 percent (depending on the current level of insulation).
It's the old Pareto, 80-20 rule with concrete floors. 80% of the heat is lost through 20% of the total surface.
Do the touch test. The interior ceilings, walls and floors in your home should feel warm and dry. When drywall and paneling inside a home feels damp or cold, there is not enough insulation. Alternatively, when touching an exterior wall, it should feel cold because insulation is keeping warm air inside a home.
It is possible to over-insulate your house so much that it can't breathe. The whole point of home insulation is to tightly seal your home's interior. But if it becomes too tightly sealed with too many layers of insulation, moisture can get trapped inside those layers. That's when mold starts to grow.
It's always best not to apply paints under 50 degrees Fahrenheit and ideally not over 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures on the walls in winter are often colder than the ones on the living space, so take into account that. To give paint the best results, rooms with a temperate climate should be kept dry sooner.
Rolls of foam insulation are cheap, says Brennand, and three rolls of 8in deep foam should be enough to give most lofts an important layer of protection. Mineral wool (such as Rockwool or Rocksil), glass fibre and recycled paper products all work well, according to the NEF.
More than 10 percent of an average home's heat is lost through the floor. This percentage can be much higher in older homes with hardwood floors—or floors made of other materials that conduct heat and cold.
On a hot day, your home can gain as much as 35% of the internal heat through the ceiling if it is uninsulated.
While concrete is a very strong and reliable building material, it's a terrible insulator. Hot and cold pass right through it. In the building industry we call materials like concrete a thermal bridge. Any heat inside the home will pass right through the concrete with very little resistance.
Getting your attic brought up-to-date in terms of insulation can significantly cut your winter heating and summer cooling costs. The DOE has named adding attic insulation as one of the most beneficial things a homeowner can do to improve your home's efficiency.
5% of Your Home's Lost Heat is Through Ceilings
A small portion of your home's heat is lost through your ceiling. If you get a home energy audit and find that much of your heat is escaping through the ceiling and into the attic, it may be time to test and see how much insulation you have, and how much you need.
Looking up your type of insulation will allow you to determine if it should be replaced or increased in its R value. A home energy audit may find that the walls are actually the most significant cause of heat loss in your home.
Insulation doesn't “heat” an area, it simply slows down heat movement through building materials. Since heat will always move to a colder source, in cold climates, insulation slows the heat from leaving the house and in hot climates insulation slows down the hot outside air from entering the cool inside.
Poor wall insulation accounts for between 35-40% of heat loss in homes, according to Northern Energy, making it the biggest source of heat loss. Insulating your walls is therefore well worth doing, but there's an important rule of thumb to consider when insulating.
Without insulation, heat and cool air are easily lost through the floor. Insulation also helps to preserve the air quality and reduce energy costs. There are two types of crawl spaces - ventilated and unventilated - and each requires its own form of insulation.
Improving the insulation of your home is the main way to battle heat loss through floors, walls and windows and roofs. You can either install more insulation or ensure that there are no gaps in the existing insulation as adequate insulation keeps heat loss to a minimum.
Insulating over drywall or plaster, Part One
To reduce the amount of demolition and waste InSoFast panels can be installed directly over drywall or plaster. This application using the Flat Panel 2" or 2 1/2" used in this configuration with 1/2" drywall, very little interior space is lost.
The Differences Between Blown-in and Rolled Insulation
In terms of R-value, they tend to be equal, although you can choose rolled insulation with varying R-values depending on your needs and your budget. The lower the R-value is, the less effective it will be as insulation – although it will be cheaper as well.