How To Find Out Insulation R Values
Insulation is an important aspect of the house and it should be done properly. A properly insulated house is not only energy efficient but also increases in terms of resale value. The constant heating and cooling of the house during the winter and summer means you will be paying a lot of money to the utility company. Worst thing is if your house is not properly insulated, the amount of electricity cost will be substantial at the end of every month. It’s a known fact that to reduce the heating and cooling cost, the easiest way is to add insulation.
There are certain areas of the house that may have been insulated. If you feel that the existing insulation isn’t adequate, you could add extra layer of insulation which will increase the R value. The tricky part is to figure out how much R value you will need to add on top of the existing insulation so that the combined R value is enough to curb energy loss.
The following paragraphs will tell you exactly how to find out the R value for existing insulation.
Tools You Will Need
Before starting your work, there are some tools that will come in handy for your task in figuring out the R value of existing insulation. You may not need some of these tools but it’s good to have them since you will be working in some areas of the house that have limited lighting and may be hazardous.
First of all, you certainly need a flashlight since some areas of the house such as the attic doesn’t have lighting. You also require a pair of safety glasses to protect your eyes. A ruler is an essential tool that you will need in order to measure the thickness of existing insulation. Besides, you may need a screw driver or a small crow bar in case you need to do some minor hacking.
Existing Insulation
Before doing anything yet, figure out what’s already installed in the area. Use the flashlight if the area is too dark to see. If your house is already more than 10 years old, chances are that you will find loose fiber insulation made out of fiberglass, rock wool or cellulose in most areas. Other common insulation materials that have been widely used are fiberglass batts and granules of vermiculite. These are the most common types of insulation materials that you can find in a lot of residential homes.
Measure the Thickness
Once the insulation material has been identified in a particular area, use the ruler to measure the thickness of the insulation. The R value of the existing insulation can be calculated by multiplying the thickness with a pre-determined number.
For example, if the insulation material is fiberglass batt, the R value can be obtained by multiplying the thickness in inches by 3.2. You can do the same for other types of insulation except that the pre-determined number is different for other insulation material. Use 2.7 for granule insulation and 3 for loose fiber insulation.
Wall Insulation
To find out if the wall is insulated, remove the socket cover from the interior and look through the crack to find out if there is existing insulation. If it’s too dark inside, use the flashlight. If the wall is insulated, try your best to identify the material.
Use the above calculation to determine the R value if you know what the insulation material is.
Wall Siding
To determine the R value of the existing insulation sheathing underneath the wall siding, there is no choice but to remove a small portion of the siding. For existing insulation sheathing, the R value normally ranges from 2.5 to 2.6. The insulation underneath the wall siding is a little bit tricky to check and require a flashlight to illuminate what’s in there.
Crawlspaces
The crawlspace is usually insulated with fiberglass batt. If you are unsure, you can check the floors beneath the garages or the basements. You can usually find a label that indicates the R value of the existing insulating batt. If it’s not there, do as what is mentioned in above paragraphs by taking the depth of the batt layer and multiple the number in inches by 3.2 to find out the R value.
Foam Board Insulation
Other than the above mentioned insulation materials, you may come across newer type of insulation materials such as foam board or spray foam insulation in your house. These are more effective insulation materials that offer higher r values. You can determine the R value for these types of insulation materials by multiplying the thickness by 5.
Safety Precautions
Necessary safety steps need to be observed when removing wall outlet covers. If you are not sure, it’s always a good idea to turn off the main power source.
