Here’s How to Check Your Home’s Insulation Levels

Is the insulation level in your home up to current standards? Unless you’ve upgraded your insulation in the last decade, your house is probably under-insulated according to recommendations of the U.S. Department of Energy. Homes constructed back in an era of lower energy costs often came with an insulation level to match those less-expensive times.

Today, however, ensuring you have adequate insulation is critical to controlling heating and cooling costs, not to mention maintaining comfortable living spaces year-round.

Because heat energy always radiates from a hot zone into a cooler zone, insulating the attic to the optimum level is the most critical area in the house to inhibit both heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer. Attic insulation comes in two types: fiberglass batts that roll out between the ceiling joists and look like pink cotton candy or cellulose loose-fill that’s blown in under air pressure and resembles mounds of new-fallen snow. The proper amount of attic insulation is determined by depth.

Checking Your Insulation Level

Climb up into the attic, taking care to walk only on the walkway down the center. Never step out on beds of insulation between the joists as the ceiling may give way beneath you. Use a ruler or yardstick to measure the depth of insulation between joists. According to the current standards for our climate zone the following total depth is recommended:

• Fiberglass batts: at least 15 inches and up to 19 inches.
• Cellulose loose-fill: at least 13 inches and up to 16 inches.

The more insulation, the more control you have over indoor temperature and energy consumption. Attic insulation can be upgraded by adding additional material to the existing layer to achieve the specified total depth in inches. You can also mix different types — blowing new cellulose in on top of an existing layer of fiberglass is a common method to increase the R-factor of attic insulation.

For more about bringing your insulation level up to current standards, contact the professionals at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about insulation and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 440-201-2959.

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