Winterizing your house with insulation is the best way to save on heating costs, reduce drafts, protect pipes, and create a more comfortable living environment.
You can use many types of insulation to winterize your house. In fact, you should use different types of insulation for different applications to maximize energy efficiency. Many have specific uses.
Common Types Of Insulation – and Where To Use Them
Ninety percent of homes in the USA are underinsulated. Any winterizing you undertake improves your home’s comfort.
Caulking
Caulking is not a true insulation product. It has very little R-value, but it is an essential tool in your home winterizing arsenal. Up to 38% of a home’s heat is lost through gaps and cracks in walls and around windows and doors. (A ⅛” gap between the exterior door slab and the sill loses as much warm air as a 2.4 square-inch hole through the wall.)
Exterior and interior sealing around window frames, door frames, and wall penetrations like pipes and vents is the easiest and cheapest way to reduce heat loss and increase comfort.
Spray Foam
Spray form in a can provides R-5.0 per inch when dry. It is great for sealing gaps around pipe penetrations and difficult to insulate areas inside the house. Use it to insulate between window and door jambs and the wall framing.
Spray foam insulation is used for walls, attic floors, attic roofs, rim joists, etc. Professionally installed spray foam insulation is fairly expensive but you can save money by buying DIY spray foam kits to winterize your home.
Weatherstrip and Storm Windows
Fix drafty windows and doors with insulating weatherstrip and new exterior door sweeps. Storm windows are worth installing when caulking and new weatherstrip won’t provide proper seals.
Pipe Insulation
Foam pipe insulation installed on water pipes keeps pipes from freezing,…