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how insulated? Posted by Snowmobile [Email]  (#686)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Snowmobile) on Mon, 4 Nov 2013 07:16:37
In Reply to: Re:House is insulated., Name Left Blank, Sat, 2 Nov 2013 12:11:44 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
In most cases, it is much better to spend money on insulation than on heating capacity! Some of this is climate dependent, but this is where I would start (this is coming from a northern perspective).
First off, have you had an energy audit? That will show you the worst case offenders... but even if you haven't there are some places you can start:
1) what is the depth of the loose rock wool in your attic? If that's all you have up there and it's only 3" - 5" deep, you are way under modern standards. I would blow cellulose up there to get the R value in the R40 range. Leave the rock wool in place. It is a good fire retarder (and a decent insulation also).
2) before 1, seal off all leaks into the attic. Do you have a proper vapour barrier up there? If not, it is not actually a big concern, but make sure you caulk all penetrations in the ceiling... so electrical boxes are big offenders and the #1 is often the chimney. For that you can make up some metal flashings and seal with fire-rated caulk. Air leaks are more of a concern than vapour transmission, as paint will reduce that to a reasonable level. If your roof is vented, you are pulling warm air from your house through the leaks to the vents. Close the leaks and your vents will pull from the soffit as they are supposed to (I am assuming you have appropriate intake ventilation for your roof - another thing to check!)
3) walls, if they are already insulated, not a lot you can do. uninsulated, I would do blown in. Personally I prefer cellulose but the foam is higher performing if done right. Cellulose is more installer tolerant.
4) windows - are these original? single or double pane? imho, there is little wrong with old windows as long as they are reasonably maintained and there are decent storms... 1 pane is not good news and especially if they are the aluminum sliders that were popular in the 60's... if you have those, and live in a northern climate (ie get snow) replace them asap!
5) sealing and insulating the sills where the joist bays end in the basement is valuable. you may feel drafts at the floor near outside walls as an indication of this. try wandering around with a candle when the furnace is running to see where air is coming in. Infiltration losses are addressed by sealing holes/gaps of which there can be many around the foundation. They also can let in mice, so worth filling.
6) electrical boxes on outside walls often let in drafts (again, try the candle test). easy solution is to just buy a sheet of those foam cutouts that install under the cover plates.
The key to saving $$ is to get the furnace to run less. People are building Passivehaus homes in northern climates now. ie they basically don't even need a furnace... so while you would have to go to great lengths to achieve that, you could likely vastly improve your heating costs with a little effort on the insulation front. Take note though that if you seal the house very tight, you will need an HRV to bring in fresh air... and really that is the way it should be done anyway - one controlled opening that recovers the heat vs thousands of tiny leaks drafting moisture into cold spaces that can cause rot.
good luck!
, Sat, 2 Nov 2013 08:24:45, Mon, 4 Nov 2013 07:16:37 <-- Viewing This Message
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