When considering ways to make your residence more comfortable, temperature is most definitely one of the strongest variables involved. When I started thinking about the temperature inside my home, I wondered about its consistency. Did it actually fluctuate more than it should? What would be a sure way to find this out? Does it matter? 

If you care about efficiency and/or money, then yes, it does. One great way to make sure your temperature is controlled efficiently is by examining your insulation. When a home is well insulated, it is protected from excess heat during the summer and cold during the winter months. In fact, heating and cooling costs can account for almost half of a home’s energy bill in many cases. Insulation is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to reduce costs in the energy bill department. 

In case you did not know, when you look at insulation, you need to know the type by looking at its grade. This grade is measured by something called the “R-Value“. The R-value requirements for your house will vary depending upon where you live, the type of heating you have, and your home’s design. Basically, as the R-value’s number increases, so does its resistance to heat transfer. Insulation can be added anywhere, but to achieve a maximum savings, attics, floors, basements, crawl spaces, walls, and ceilings can all be used. 

To find out more about how your home stacks up to maximizing its efficiency potential, try exploring some of these great resources: 

Insulation Energy Savers -Information and tips. 

Fact Sheet -Facts & R-Values 

Zip-Code Insulation Program -Current & Recommended R-Value 

Insulation-Related Incentives & Rebates 

North American Insulation Manufacturers Association -Information 

Hopefully with the above resources, not only will you be more informed of your household’s insulation situation, but also have the knowledge on where to go from here. If you insulate everything you can, you can also expect to start seeing some major changes in your monthly energy bills! 

-LINKS-

residence more comfortable 

Insulation Energy Savers 

Fact Sheet 

Zip-Code Insulation Program 

Insulation-Related Incentives & Rebates 

North American Insulation Manufacturers Association 

many cases 

R-Value

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This entry was posted on Friday, September 7th, 2007 at 10:03 pm and is filed under Conservation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.