How To Improve House Insulation? Here Are 9 Ways
The following examples illustrate how inadequate home insulation can lead to many problems within your household, regardless of the weather conditions.
- Reduce the flow of heat around the house.
- Insulate your home to prevent heat loss through gaps.
- Less energy-efficient home.
- Heating bill payments are higher
Here are nine of the best methods for improving home insulation that you can use to avoid these risks.
How To Improve House Insulation?
If you live in a hot or cold climate, you may have to learn how to improve the insulation in your home, including the materials and methods you can use to do so.
You can improve your home’s insulation by following these nine tips.
1: Insulate ceilings to reduce heating and cooling costs
It is vital to insulate the ceiling and roof of a house since heat can escape through the roof (the roof cavity, for example).
Adding reflective ceiling insulation to your home reduces your energy and heating bills because it traps heat more easily.
As an alternative, if you don’t have a ceiling (as with a cathedral roof), you must use bulk insulation to improve the insulation of your roof and increase heat gain into your home (most cathedral roofs also include foil reflective insulation for this purpose).
2: Insulate the walls to improve heat flow in the house
It is important to insulate the internal walls of your home (and the external walls as well).
To ensure that you do not lose heat through a wall cavity, you should use foam board or spray insulation for the cavity.
It is also good to find an installer who specializes in the type of wall you have (for example, brick veneer walls).
3: Improve the energy efficiency of radiators and heat sources by insulating them
Without insulating your radiators, pipes, and boilers, radiant heat can drastically increase your heating costs.
In addition, cylinder jackets for pipes are usually cost-effective solutions for home insulation (a cylinder jacket for pipes, for example).
4: Insulate with heavy-duty materials like structural insulated panels
Heat loss and energy bills can be reduced by installing bulk insulation in the home.
Since bulk insulation traps heat the best, you should install it unless you have a specific type of insulation in mind.
5: Prevent air leaks with a door snake
For cold weather heat gain and hot weather cold air infiltration, reducing air leakage is essential.
You can prevent air leakage by placing a door snake directly below the door to prevent air leakage through the gaps around the door.
6: Insulate the underfloor to prevent heat loss
The importance of floor insulation can’t be overstated because it can prevent heat loss in your house, and bulk underfloor insulation can keep it cool during hot weather.
As underfloor insulation requires a lot of space, it is important to find an affordable bulk insulation solution that fills the space efficiently and reduces energy bills. Expanded polystyrene sheets are a great insulation solution for homes because they are easy to install and they insulate effectively.
7: Use reflective insulation to improve winter and summer home temperatures
As reflective insulation blocks out radiant heat, it is a great home insulation solution in Australia during the summer months.
As well as being beneficial in cold weather, reflective insulation also keeps heat inside the house by using reflective surfaces (reflective foil insulation is excellent for this).
8: Wrap the window frames in insulation to keep the house warm in the winter
A window can also be a primary source of hot or cold air leakage into a home, which is why you should discuss window home insulation with your insulation contractor.
Foam tape or weather strips can be used to effectively insulate windows.
9: Get More Air Trapping by Using Heavier Curtains
Because heavier curtains can trap more air than thinner ones, if you don’t have window insulation (for example, because of the cost), you can replace your curtains if you don’t have it.
Thin curtains will quickly move out of the way of air entering the house, but thick curtains will trap the air and make your energy bills go down.
Also check: Is ADT Worth It? How Much Is ADT A Month?
The importance of inspecting and evaluating your insulation
If you are living in an unheated space, such as a garage or basement, check the attic, walls, and floors adjacent to those spaces. The structural elements are usually exposed in these areas, so it is easy to see what type of insulation you have and to check its depth and thickness (inches).
An electrical outlet can be used to inspect the exterior walls:
- Disconnect the outlet from the power source.
- You should be able to see whether there is insulation in the wall by removing the outlet cover.
- The type of insulation can be determined by pulling out a small amount of insulation.
- If you find insulation in one wall, it does not mean it is everywhere in the house. You should check outlets on all floors as well as old and new parts.
- Unfinished basement ceilings and walls, or crawlspaces, should be examined and measured for insulation thickness (inches). The perimeter wall of a crawlspace may contain insulation if it is not ventilated. A new house may have insulation outside the foundation or basement walls. If this is the case, it won’t be noticeable. The builder or original homeowner might be able to tell you if exterior insulation was installed.
- Use the U.S. Department of Energy’s online Insulation fact sheet to determine the R-value of insulation previously installed in your home once you’ve determined its type and thickness (inches).
Determining Recommended R-Values
The Home Energy Saver tool can be used to determine how much insulation you need based on the R-values of your insulation as determined by an energy assessment, a home builder, or your inspection.
Calculating the cost and payback of a project
In addition to providing recommendations on energy upgrades, such as insulation, the Home Energy Saver calculator also calculates the rate of return on these upgrades.
Deciding on the type of insulation to use
To decide which type of insulation to use and where to insulate your home, review our information on the types of insulation available.
How to insulate a house with existing walls
Yes, absolutely! Existing walls, in old and new houses, can be insulated using a fantastic technique called “drill and fill.”
Is it worth insulating existing walls?
If your home is not specifically built for energy efficiency, you can probably reduce your energy bills by adding more insulation. Many older homes, even newer homes, have less insulation than those built today.
Insulating Your Home: A Final Summary
To properly insulate your home, you must ensure that all parts of the house are insulated and there are no gaps in your insulation. If you cannot afford to insulate every part, you should concentrate on the areas with the largest surface area, such as the roof and walls.
The final option is to insulate smaller parts of your house yourself, such as windows with foam tape, so as not to overspend.
