Improving Insulation In Your Home In The Cincinnati Area Is Easy With These 3 Tips
Improving the insulation in your Cincinnati-area home begins with the basic understanding that heat is always trying to get into or out of your home. Insulation added to wall voids and your attic floor prevents or retards the transfer of heat through your walls or ceilings. Here are three guidelines for improving insulation in your home.
What kind?
The two most common types of home insulation are fiberglass batts and cellulose loose fill.
- Fiberglass batts are blankets of fiberglass fibers cut to fit between the joists in your attic or the studs in wall spaces. Fiberglass insulation is usually the least expensive and easiest to install.
- Cellulose is composed of recycled particles of paper and cloth treated with fireproofing. It is blown into attic spaces and wall cavities. More expensive than fiberglass and requiring more equipment to install, cellulose provides more consistent coverage, as it can be blown into odd-shaped spaces in the attic or walls.
What R-value?
All forms of home insulation share a common rating method called R-value. A higher R-value means the insulation is more resistant to heat flow, and this increases the energy efficiency of your home. The insulating capacity of fiberglass batts and loose-fill cellulose is expressed as the R-value per inch. Fiberglass batts have an R-value per inch of 3.14, while cellulose has an R-value of about 3.7.
How much?
The Department of Energy has established standards for the level of insulation based on climate zone. In Cincinnati, the DOE recommends an R-value of 49 in the attic and 18 in wall cavities. This translates to at least 15 inches of fiberglass or 13 inches of cellulose in an attic and 5.7 inches of fiberglass or 4.8 inches of cellulose in walls.
Apollo Home Heating, Cooling & Plumbing is local and has been family-owned for more than 100 years. We serve Cincinnati and surrounding communities with quality products and superior customer service. Contact us about saving energy and improving insulation in your Cincinnati-area home.
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