In most cases, interior walls are not insulated during construction. Unlike exterior walls, which must meet local and state codes for insulation, interior wall insulation is rarely required. This is because interior insulation has much less impact on your home's energy efficiency – but it can still play a role.
But it's effect on your home's space isn't the only thing to consider. Internal wall insulation changes the fabric of your home, and can, if not employed properly, cause issues such as damp and condensation.
Wall insulation will improve your home's energy efficiency, and make your indoor temperatures more comfortable year round. It can also reduce noise transfer, improve moisture control and cut down your carbon footprint. If you're building a home, wall insulation is essential.
There are certain cases of homes being built without it. These homes are in locations with very moderate climates. For instance, in the Central American nation of Costa Rica, there is a town named Atenas that boasts of having the best climate in the world.
If your home is insufficiently insulated, your furnace or air conditioner is probably running all the time to regulate the temperature in your home. This means that you're paying a fortune on your energy bills every month only to have your expensive heated or cooled air escape through your walls, attic and windows.
Without insulation, heat from your home can escape through the walls, making it difficult to maintain a comfortable temperature indoors. This heat loss can also lead to higher energy bills and wasted resources.
While insulating exterior walls is standard procedure in residential construction, this isn't always the case with a home's interior walls. Actually, many homebuilders neglect to insulate interior walls altogether, which often results in second-rate efficiency and poor soundproofing.
While insulation is one of the best ways to reduce unwanted noise in new homes, building codes mostly require that exterior walls be insulated, and it's not customary for the interior walls of homes to be insulated.
If your walls feel cold when you touch them, then it is likely that your home is not well insulated. Fortunately, you can easily make your walls warmer by installing extra insulation and completing other home energy upgrades. This will reduce heat loss, lower carbon emissions, and save you money on utility bills.
Too Much of a Good Thing
There comes a point where too much insulation starts to have a negative effect — financially, environmentally, and in terms of the longevity of your home. So yes, it is possible to over-insulate your house.
You may add insulation to your walls without removing it by cutting holes into the siding. You can blow spray foam or cellulose into the walls from outside. Just cut a 1 inch to 2-inch hole between the studs at the top of the wall and then spray the insulation into the hole using a hose.
If you live in a humid and hot climate, you might want to install both a vapor barrier and insulation in your walls and create an air barrier. You'll have less humidity buildup. If you live in a cold climate, they can work together to create thermal barriers and prevent air leaks.
Injection foam can be installed from the inside of your home without having to take down your existing drywall. The crews will drill holes into the stud cavities of the wall so the injection foam can be installed. The crew will clean up any mess and do a rough patch where the holes were drilled into the wall.
Unfaced insulation is great for new construction, remodels, walls, floors, ceilings, basements, attics and crawlspaces. It's best used for interior wall applications that do not face the outside and also in rooms that don't need moisture control, like living rooms, dining rooms and studies.
Internal wall insulation, such as UdiTHERM NF wood fibre insulation, tends to be used less than external due to the disruption it causes to the occupants of buildings although it can be simpler to install and can offer greater improvements in winter comfort.
Adding interior insulation makes the walls colder, which will result in condensation both inside and on the surface of the wall, causing mold and mildew. Exterior insulation is much better in this regard, as it prevents dampness from penetrating the walls, without affecting their temperature on the inside.
Advantage: Most common, non-flammable, resistant to moisture damage, and effectively blocks heat flow. Disadvantage: It can be highly irritating to your skin and lungs if you come in direct contact with it. Installation: Fairly simple, and you can do it yourself.
Arguably the most important space in the home to insulate is the attic. This is primarily because heat naturally rises, which means that the attic will hold a lot of the heat generated in the home. During the winter, having that heat escape through the attic will push up energy bills.
What needs to be insulated? Properly insulated bathroom reduces energy consumption and saves money. To accomplish this, you have to insulate interior walls and hot water pipes, to minimize heat loss.
About 35% of the heat will escape through the walls and through gaps, in and around windows and doors, and about 10% of heat will disappear through the floor. Taking action to make sure your home is energy efficient has many benefits.
Signs of Poor Insulation
Cold interior walls, floors or ceilings. High humidity or mould on the upper floor. Premature wear of the roofing. The roof thawing quickly at the end of winter, and ice forming on the gutters.
One of the key factors to consider when making sure that your home is as mold resistant as possible is insulation. Insulation can help to maintain indoor temperature conditions which can help to control factors leading to mold growth so not having it where it counts can be a big problem.
Unless your home was specially constructed for energy efficiency, you can probably reduce your energy bills by adding more insulation. Many older homes have less insulation than homes built today, but even adding insulation to a newer home can pay for itself within a few years.