So, How Much Do You Want to Pay the Utility Company?

So, how much do you don't want to pay the Utility company? Summer is approaching, and many people don't realize that you need good insulation in your home at this time of year just as much as you do in the winter. This is because the heat that you tame with air conditioning you don't want replaced with its brother and sister hot air molecules from the outside.

You see, heat rising is actually an incomplete answer. It rises because heat flows to where it is colder, and it will be colder higher in the atmosphere than lower. Since it's colder in your house in summer than outside because of the shade provided, heat will flow into your home if not properly insulated.

Unfortunately, the reverse is true in the winter. Your house is now a bastion of warmth, and the heat seeps out where the insulation's bad and wind forces cold air in at badly insulated points.

The principle of how heat acts is the principle behind air conditioning. Air conditioning doesn't make the air colder, it removes the hotter air from the colder air and places the hotter air outside where you don't want it; which is why your air conditioner blows hot air on the outside of your house.

So how to go about making your house a fortress against unwanted heat or cold. First know how old your house is. Technology is better now than it was in 1950's when an efficient house furnace was 50 % efficient as opposed to 95 % efficient today.

If your home's older and has had the insulation neglected, you may need to upgrade the insulation. You can do this by having foam insulation blown into your walls. This isn't a do it your self job; however. You need special equipment.

In some cases though, this cant be done. In older brick houses, plaster board was often put on a ¾ furring strip on cinder block behind the finished brick wall. There isn't enough void for installing effective foam insulation.

You can also panel insulate your foundation, but you need to know the depth of the frost line in your area. In a State like New Hampshire, it will be 4 feet below ground level, so you need to insulate 2 feet below that four feet to be effective. However, to prove that no good deed goes unpunished, in warmer states termites love underground insulation as it allows them easy access material to tunnel and reach the wood the insulation contacts.

Thankfully, most of us can do attic insulation. You must wear protective equipment though, such as goggles, a mask and protective clothing as the insulation will be made of fiber glass and fiberglass is not only itchy and bad for your eyes but also's dangerous if too much is inhaled.

The higher the R-value ( thermal resistance), the better the insulation; however do not over do it. You have a point of diminishing returns. Also, your house needs some air circulation which insulation where the R factor is too high prevents.

Having a good roof, and good siding's important too. Water transfers heat better than insulation holds it. So a bad roof or siding means moisture in the walls or ceiling, and that's no good for keeping your house either cold or warm depending on the season. It, of course, is commonsense to patch up cracks, replace worn out caulking and have good windows

For more information than can be provided in a short article, I have provided these links. http://www.askthebuilder.com/Insulation.shtml and http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infxtra/infinsul.html

By

Jeffrey Ruzicka

Jeffrey Ruzicka is a retired executive of a small company that specializes in industrial water treatment. He is lives happily with his wife in Western Pennsylvania and is a contributing writer to UtilitiesJobs, UtilitiesJobsBlog andNexxt.