Do it Yourself Home Insulation: The R-Value

If you are in the market for insulation it should be noted that there is more to the process than simply shopping around and selecting the cheapest pink stuff on the market. It’s understandable that a tight budget is being followed, but sometimes choosing the best bulk deals can hurt your financial interests in the long run. You have to keep in mind why you have a need of insulation in the first place; to help control the climate within your home. This is where the R-value comes in.

R-value is the measure of resistance that insulation has toward heat transfer. Heat likes to flow into cool places; in winter heat wants to go outside and in the summer heat wants to come inside. The R-value of the insulation in your home tremendously helps you keep the heat and cold where you want them; subsequently saving you money in the long run. Costs of heating and cooling a home is a motivating factor in your decision of which R-value you should look for in your insulation purchase.

So, how is the R-value determined?

Simply, it is based on the effectiveness of the thickness and density of the materials used. Some materials need to be thicker to be effective, while other materials can get by with less mass.

Whether or not you are adding insulation to an older home or installing it for the first time is also an important factor; too much insulation will not provide additional cost savings to your energy consumption. Because the R-value of insulation is determined by its thickness, you will not need a very high value in a home that already has insulation; however, if it’s a new home and this is the first installation, then a greater value is required.

There are complex mathematical formulas available to determine what kind of savings you can expect down the road. The idea is that the insulation should pay for itself through energy cost savings after a certain period of time. This is why it is important to keep in mind why you need the insulation in the first place and to remember that a short-term savings can have a significant impact on your energy bills later on; the potential increase in the costs of energy should be an important factor.

It would do you no good at all to save a thousand dollars now, but find yourself paying many more thousands of dollars down the road that you didn’t have to.

R-value; look for it and embrace it, it could be your wallet’s best friend.