A part of our house project is insulation. Payback for Insulation is 3-5 years. New house standards for insulation are attic: R49-R60, Cavity Walls: R13 to R21
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| Holes in exterior wall ready for cellulose |
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| Insulation at edge of attic |
There are two factors in insulation, sealing any cracks to eliminate convection loss of heat thru air flow, and the R factor, which slows the conduction loss from a warmer area to a colder area. The fiberglass insulation, unless well sealed, will allow migration of air thru the spaces in the fiberglass. The compact cellulose will tend to seal itself and eliminate the migration of air.
As part of our ongoing renovations, we have an energy company, Energy Savers of Syracuse, adding insulation to our house.
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| Attic Stairs ready for blowing in Cellulose Insulation |
Two of my walls had been previously insulated with 4" fiberglass batts. The new kitchen has fiberglass batts installed in the exterior walls. The remaining walls are being filled with blown in cellulose insulation.The attic had previously had 5" of fiberglass installed in the joist space under the attic floor. The new project has approx. 10" of cellulose under the eaves behind an existing kneewall that was extended the remaining width of the house. Between the cellulose and roof is a baffle to allow air flow from the eave vents up to the ridge vent. The main floor has an additional 1" of P2000 insulation that is a boardtype insulation. According to their literature, one inch P2000 thermal performance meets or exceeds the performance of R-19, 5 1/2" fiberglas. The joints are sealed with tape, all penetrations are foamed in place. This will allow us storage space in the attic. The space under the stairs, and the inside wall of the stair are filled with cellulose. The attic side of the door has 1" styrofoam, and a draft stop.
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P2000 Insulation Board being installed, all penetrations are foamed
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The R value of the attic floor has been doubled, and it has been sealed against air flow. In addition, all walls of the house have either fiberglass insulation or blown in cellulose insulation.
That's smart and green! I can see that you know well why we should insulate our houses. Knowledge on the principles of heat is important to ensure that we insulate the right places in the house. These are places where there is much heat transfer occurs.
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