Insulating Your Home for Winter

As the chilly winter months approach and the gas prices are up, it is important to think about keeping your family nice and warm in your home – without emptying your wallet. The insulation that you use can keep you warm in your house in the winter. Whether you are moving into a new home or remodeling, this is one important aspect of your home that can certainly change your life by keeping you warmer – while saving money!

Insulation is available in many different forms. Traditional insulation, such as blanket rolls and batts are used in attics and unfinished walls and cavities. Rigid foam boards can be found between the interior wall and the siding on a house. Loose fill is blown onto attic rafter spaces and wall cavities.

Different Types of Insulation for your Home 

There are several types of insulation to choose from. The most common insulation is fiberglass, which has been used since the 1930s, and it is available as a board, batt, and loose fill. Fiberglass is good to use for areas with low to no moisture.  Fiberglass is composed of natural ingredients such as sand and recycled products such as window glass and bottles. The benefit of using this type of insulation is that it is good for wall cavities, attic floors or ceilings, but the abundant material made of up to 40% recycled content can release eye, throat and skin irritants.

Cellulose insulation is available as a loose fill and is appropriate for areas with very low to no moisture. Modern cellulose insulation, made with recycled newspaper using grinding and dust removing machines and adding a fire retardant, began in the 1950s and came into general use in the US during the 1970s. It is made of 75% post-consumer recycled content and is appropriate for small to large remodels, attic floors, and wall cavities (although a small hole is required to spray the insulation through it). There is no significant effect on indoor air quality with cellulose but the product does absorb moisture.

New Insulation Choices on the Market

Made primarily from blue-jeans scraps collected in factories, cotton insulation comes in a batt or loose fill to fit standard walls and ceilings. Treated to resist fire, this product is also preferred among installers as it does not itch, can be installed without wearing a respirator and contains no formaldehyde. Cotton insulation is 70% post-industrial recycled content but it does require large volumes of water and pesticides while farming.

Air quality and prevention of air leakage are both benefits of a relatively new proprietary product called Icynene. The soft foam insulation is a green building material certified for its energy conservation qualities as well as its application process. The expanding foam is blown into walls, ceilings and floors with water rather than volatile organic chemicals. While the product is based on the spray polyurethane technology developed in the mid-1970s, Icynene differs in that it contains no HCFCs or formaldehyde.

The process resembles spray painting, according to Tu Nguyen of Healthy Home Insulation in Morrisville, NC. When sprayed into walls, attics, basements or floors, Icynene's open-cell foam expands to 100 times its original volume in seconds. It acts as both a thermal insulation and an air barrier. It’s particularly effective in attics, where the foam is applied to the underside of the roof, not the attic floor, Nguyen says. “This practice stops more than 95 percent of the total heat transfer. With foam insulation, your attic will typically be no more than 10 degrees warmer than your upstairs temperature.”

Ever hear of R-value?

Now that you know about different insulation forms and products available, another factor can help you narrow down your choices for your project requiring insulation… the R-value.  The performance of insulation is measured by the R-value, the insulation’s ability to resist heat flow. The bigger the R-value number, the better the insulation's effectiveness.  Different R-values are recommended for walls, attics, basements and crawlspaces. Insulation works best when air is not moving through or around it. So it is very important to seal air leaks before installing insulation to ensure that you get the best performance from the insulation. To figure out the R-value of the insulation, check the manufacturer’s data on the type of insulation that you are interested in.

Calm before the storm

Take some time this fall to do some research on your home’s current insulation situation. This is the best time to get prepared to keep your home warm this winter without having to shell out big bucks for your heating bills during the cool months ahead.

JANE SHEALY IS A FREELANCE WRITER & MICHELLE ANYSZ IS THE EDITOR FOR NEW HOMES & IDEAS MAGAZINE

* Insulation photo courtesy of Healthy Home Insulation