The cost of heating as well as cooling your home can eat up most of the power leading to soaring energy bills. Home insulation helps in reducing the heat flow which forms the root cause for higher power bills. During the extreme cold conditions the heat is flowing out and the vice versa happens during the summers. This causes greater pressure on the cooling and heating devices.

When the ceiling, exterior walls, ducts and attic are properly insulated, the AC and warmers will not take much time to cool or heat the rooms. This ensures that there is energy efficiency which means you could save your energy bills. With so many insulation materials heaped in the market you may get confused to finalise on a particular type. Also, every room or space in your home needs to be effectively insulated and only then you can expect the desirable results.

What is R value?

When you intend to insulate make sure that you look into the R value. The R value stands for the capability of the material to resist the heat flow. The lower values specify lower capacity and higher mean better insulating capacity. Most of the insulation materials will specify the R value but there are two exceptions to it namely pipe insulation and duct insulation. When two products are of the same value you can be rest assured that they have the similar insulating capacity and so you can pick the one that will suit the room. Besides, you must also look into the durability, cost, efficiency and other added features of the product that you intend to use.

Factors to decide appropriate R value

R value needs to be decided based on several factors so that the material that you choose will be apt for the house.

Place you live:-  R value must be of very high value if the place that you reside experience extreme cold climate. This is because the heat may flow external if the insulating capacity is lesser. Whereas, if you are in a place experiencing very hot summers then you can pick the one with average R value.

Single or multi storey building:-  factors such as the single storey or multi storey; do you have basement; cathedral ceilings, and many others must be looked for making the perfect pick. Such factors are combined and analysed to understand the insulating needs of the overall house.

Heating and cooling devices:-  the type of device that is used for heating and cooling is also a major element deciding the R value. Do you have a fireplace, centralised AC, and many more is taken into account for deciding the insulation material.

Home energy audit

This is a pre step for home insulation which helps in identifying the areas where there are chances for the energy loss. This can be done either by you or you can always get the aid of the professional which have the expertise and experience to perform. The process involves investigating the windows, doors, attic, ducts, heating devices, insulation, if any, and so on to detect any kind of errors in the system. Higher R value is often recommended for attic while lower will suffice the basement and wooden framed walls. After a thorough investigating you will be able to decide the level of insulation that is required to make your home comfortable yet energy efficient. The R value can be easily understood from the manufacturers as there are norms which state the specification of such values visibly for the buyer’s convenience.

Look for the higher R value to get higher energy efficient home.