Hidden Savings For Mountain, Denver Homes & Real Estate
In mountain communities like Breckenridge, Buena Vista, Leadville and Salida Homes, it's pretty obvious that a well insulated home is a necessity. Maybe not as obvious but equally important are homes in areas such as Denver, Arvada, Golden, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood, Littleton, Thornton and Westminster where temperatures drop equally as low at times. You may be tired of hearing it, but the truth is the colder it gets, the more you will be heating your home. The more you heat your home, the more money out of your pocket.
NOW is the time to make sure that costly heat is not being lost through holes or bad insulation. Insulating the "envelope" of your home, can save up to 20 percent on heating and cooling costs, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Energy. A few simple steps can save you up to 20 percent on energy costs as well as helping out our environment.
Homeowners can choose from a lot of materials and price ranges. When shopping, consider R-value, airflow and density. Insulation's ability to slow the transfer of heat is measured in R-values, the higher the R-value, the better the insulation material's ability to resist the flow of heat through it.
To determine if your home is well insulated, first check the insulation in your attic, ceilings, exterior and basement walls, floors, and crawl spaces to see if it meets recommended levels. To assess your attic insulation, measure the thickness of the insulation and decide what type of insulation you have. If you're not sure, take a small sample to your building supply store or your local electric co-op to ask for help in identifying it.
The effectiveness of insulation is measured in R-value per inch. The total R-value of your insulation depends on both its type and its depth. To determine the total R-value of your insulation, decide what type of insulation is installed, and multiply the R -value per inch times the number of inches installed. The insulation properties of various materials vary significantly, so the inches installed must be times by the R-value of the type on insulation you have installed. In addition to the material itself, the quality of the installation job (minimizing voids) is important for maximum savings.
Another point of consideration should be airflow. More emphasis is being given to the insulation's resistance to airflow. Thermal bypass, or the movement of heat around or through insulation, frequently occurs due to missing air barriers or gaps between the air barriers and the insulation.
The next determining factor is density. Denser insulation products have more fibers per square inch and therefore give you greater insulating power through higher R-values.
