Air Conditioning Efficiency

Building Design

A building location and surroundings play a key role in regulating its

temperature and illumination. In cooler climates, designing northern

hemisphere buildings with south facing windows and southern hemisphere

buildings with north facing windows increases the amount of sun ultimately

heat energy) entering the building, minimizing energy use, by maximizing

passive solar heating. Tight building design, including energy-efficient

windows, well-sealed doors, and additional thermal insulation of walls,

basement slabs, and foundations can reduce heat loss by %25 to %50.

Dark roofs in cooler climate and light roofs in warmer climates will decrease

the heating and cooling costs considerably.

Adding Insulation to houses

Unless your home was specially constructed for energy efficiency, you can

probably reduce your energy bills by adding insulation. Many older homes

have less insulation than homes built today, but even adding insulation to a

newer home can pay for itself within a few years.

To determine whether you should add insulation, you first need to find out

how much insulation you already have in you home and where is is. A

qualified home energy auditor will include an insulation check as a routine

part of a whole-house energy assessment. An energy assessment, also

known as home energy audit, will also help identify areas of you home that

are in need of air sealing. before you insulate, you should make sure that

your home is properly air-sealed.

If you do not want an energy assessment, you need to find out the following

for yourself:

•Where your home is, in not, and/or should be insulated.
•What type of insulation you have.
•The R-value and the thickness or depth (inches) of the insulation you have.

If you live in a newer house, you can probably get this information from the

builder. If you live in an older house, you'll have to inspect the insulation.

Inspecting and Evaluating Your Insulation

Check the attic, walls, and floors adjacent to an unheated space, like a garage

or basement. The structural elements are usually exposed in these areas,

which makes it easy to see what type of insulation you have and to measure its

depth or thickness (inches).

Inspect the exterior walls by using an electrical outlet:

1.Turn off the power to the outlet.
2.Remove the outlet cover and shine a flashlight into the crack around the
outlet box. You should be able to see if there is insulation in the wall and
possibly how thick it is.
3.Pull out a small amount of insulation if needed to help determine the
type of insulation.
4.Check outlets on all floors as well as old and new parts of you house. Just
because you find insulation in one wall does not mean that it is everywhere
in the house.

•Inspect and measure the thickness (inches) of any insulation in unfinished
basement ceilings and walls, or above crawl-spaces. If the crawl-space isn't
ventilated, it may have insulation in the perimeter wall. If you house is
relatively new, it may have insulation outside the basement or foundation
walls. If so, the insulation in these spaces won't be visible. The builder or the
original homeowner might be able to tell you if exterior insulation was used.

•Once you have determined the type of insulation you have in these areas
and its thickness (inches), see the government issued online insulation
fact sheet to determine the R-values of insulation previously installed
in your home.

Determining Recommended R-Values

When you find out the R-values of our insulation either from an energy

assessment, the home builder, or you own inspection, you can then use

the government issued Zip Cod Insulation Calculator to determine how

much insulation you should add and where you should add it for maximum

energy efficiency. The Zip Code Insulation Calculator provides insulation

cost estimates and a rate of return on your investment. To decide on the

type of insulation, please review Type of Insulation available to help you

decide what type to use and where to insulate.

Home > Energy Bills > Home Insulation

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