Unless you want your AC
unit or heater to spend more and more energy, causing your power bill
to keep increasing until you can barely fit it into your budget,
you’ll need to have insulation in your walls and attic. Doing so
prevents the warm or cooled air from escaping out of your house,
making it much easier to reach the temperature you’ve set in your
thermostat.
R-Value
The first thing you
should know about getting home insulation is its R-value. Basically,
this measures the resistance of your chosen insulation type to
thermal resistance or heat conduction. The higher the R-value, the
more efficient the insulation is. You should know though, that the
Department of Energy measures this value differently based on where
your home is located.
Types
Two of the most common
types of
insulation are blown-in and fiberglass. Blown-in insulation
contains loose-fill particles of fire-retardant insulating material.
A compressor then blows these particles into your attic. This is an
efficient way to get insulating material into the nooks and crannies
of your attic, making for an even distribution, even if your attic
has a particularly irregular shape.
Fiberglass insulation,
on the other hand, comes in rolls or strips of varying lengths. This
type of insulation is excellent for your floor joists, wall studs,
and even your ceiling rafters. A paper backing, which can be stapled
onto studs or beams, is attached to the insulating material.
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