Adding Insulation to an Existing Home

Adding insulation to an existing home or structure can most often increase energy efficiency and reduce utility bills.

Adding insulation to an existing home or structure can most often increase energy efficiency and reduce utility bills. In older homes it’s a given, since most were built with less insulation than builders use today. Even in newer homes, additional insulation can usually pay itself off in energy savings within a few years.

Adding Insulation to an Existing Home

Adding Insulation to an Existing Home:

First, you need to find out how much insulation you already have in your home and where. A qualified home energy auditor, such as Henges Insulation, can check your insulation. In newer houses, you may be able to find out what insulation was installed from the builder. In older houses, you’ll need to request an energy audit or if you prefer to do it yourself, follow these helpful tips from the U.S. Department of Energy:

  • 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 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 the first and upper floors, if any, and in old and new parts of a house. Just because you find insulation in one wall doesn’t mean that it’s 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 your house is relatively new, it may have been built with 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’ve determined the type of insulation you have in these areas and its thickness (inches), see the U.S. Department of Energy’s online Insulation Fact Sheet for how to determine the R-values of insulation previously installed in your home.

If you have any questions, please give us a call at 913-764-4600. If you would like us to install your additional insulation, we’d be happy to come out and do a thorough inspection for you.

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