Your Home May Also Require External Insulation
A home that is warm and cozy in winter and cool in summer is a place to relax, a refuge. A home that is constantly too hot or too cold will never be comfortable and can empty your wallet: up to 70% of the energy you pay for in your home is used to heat or cool it, as well as heating your home. probably makes up about 30% of your utility bills .
How well your home is insulated has a huge impact on its energy efficiency and your monthly bills. Adding extra insulation to your home can reduce your heating and cooling costs by an average of 15% , making this a simple home improvement project. Typically, homeowners focus on adding insulation to the inside of the home (in the attic or inside the walls), but there is another strategy to make your home even more energy efficient and comfortable: adding insulation to the outside of your home .
Increasing R value
Considering exterior insulation makes sense if you’re going to be removing or adding siding or siding to your home; Either way, the home’s exterior will be exposed, making it an ideal opportunity to cost-effectively improve the overall insulation of your home.
Exterior insulation is like putting a sweater on your house: it creates an additional barrier to heat loss or gain. It’s a simple concept: once the exterior walls of your home are exposed, you can attach a material such as rigid foam or rockwool insulation to the walls, seal it, and then cover it with the siding or siding of your choice. If your home is always cold in the winter or too hot in the summer, adding that extra layer of insulation can potentially make a big difference.
The benefits depend on the R value you add and the climate zone in which you live. If you live in Nebraska, for example, you’re in climate zone 5, and if your home has 2×6 exterior walls, you’re shooting for an R value of 19-21. R values are additive, so any insulation you add to the outside of your home will improve its overall R value, and one inch of foam insulation can increase your home’s R value by 5 . If your home already has an R-value of 20, this would represent a 20% increase.
What to consider
One of the huge benefits of insulating the outside of your home is that you can avoid disturbances inside your home. You won’t need to drill holes in the walls or completely remove drywall. All the clutter and troubles remain outside, and the interior of your home remains clean and calm. If you’re replacing siding or siding anyway, the project shouldn’t add to the disruption at all.
However, before you start insulating your outdoor space, there are a few things to consider:
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Expenses. The cost of adding insulation to a siding project will depend on which wall you need to insulate. For example, 4×8 polyisocyanurate board from Johns Manville costs about $26, so you can measure the square footage of your exterior walls to get an idea of how much the materials will cost. But you’ll also have to account for complexities such as windows, soffit and other features that may add or subtract materials. And then there are the labor costs to install it, which will vary greatly; You can expect to add several thousand dollars to your siding project, including exterior insulation.
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Thickness. Adding insulation means everything else will move out a few inches, which can affect things like window trim or exterior outlets. There are many products that can compensate for these complications, but you need to be sure your contractor is aware of the potential problems and has a plan to address them.
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Moisture. Adding insulation between the siding and frame of your home can improve moisture penetration by adding extra clearance between the surface and the interior. However, if you are using rigid foam board that has some kind of vapor barrier on the outside, this can cause problems since you will be sandwiching the insulation between two vapor barriers , trapping moisture under the siding. This is why it is very important to consult with a specialist when choosing insulation materials for such a project.
If you’re already looking to remove siding or other cladding on your home, taking the opportunity to add a little exterior insulation can make a big difference to your home’s comfort level and the size of your utility bills, all without breaking the bank. a lot of chaos inside.