Best Residential Insulation Practices

One way to assess what is the best insulation is by a measurement called an r value.

Best residential insulation practices.

Icynene foam insulation is blown in using water and contains no cfcs or formaldehyde once cured. In this case it s because they weren t cut. Whenever possible site the home to take advantage of southern exposure on the rear with fewer penetrations on the north side. Select a wall system that minimizes thermal bridging such as a double plate wall or one with exterior rigid insulation.

Batts are about the worst you can do here. Do it yourself insulation of unfinished walls floors and ceilings. 14 best practices for high performance homes from our experts. R values can be higher for foam insulation and other advanced insulation systems.

Insulation tips for hot humid climates. Air krete cementitious foam is a nontoxic insulation that s sprayed into wall cavities. Blanket insulation the most common and widely available type of insulation comes in the form of batts or rolls. What is the best insulation.

See that photo above. The best way to insulate your house or church school or office building greatly depends on what type of environment you live in if you look at historic houses and buildings you can learn a lot about how to design for your climate because early builders had to adapt to the local conditions to try to make buildings as comfortable as possible. By susan lahey november december 2006. It consists of flexible fibers most commonly fiberglass.

Reduce exterior wall leaks by taping the joints of exterior sheathing and caulking and sealing exterior walls. You also can find batts and rolls made from mineral rock and slag wool plastic fibers and natural fibers such as cotton and sheep s wool. R value is a measurement based on a material s ability to resist heat flow. Notice that you don t see insulation filling all the spaces between the ceiling joists.

Get the input of architects trade partners suppliers and other decision makers while the project is still in the design phase. For the best performance an insulation material needs to fill the whole space with no gaps voids compression or incompletely filled areas. Here are some best practices for reducing thermal bridging. The higher the r value the better that material is for insulation.

Blanket batts and rolls are typically constructed with fiberglass although versions made of cotton mineral wool.