Home Ownership If you're energy conscious, you probably turn down the furnace at night and if you leave the house for a few hours. That can take 20 per cent or more off your annual fuel bill. If you'd like to take energy conservation even further, there's much more you can do.

Adding insulation is just one possibility. It's already become a fad of sorts, prompting an increasing number of Canadians to investigate their attics, walls and basements. In this article we'll discuss insulating and other home improvements that can help reduce the cost of heating your home.


Insulation tips

If you're considering adding insulation, here's some advice for the various areas of your house.

• Attics: Attics can be insulated with poured, blown-in or batt insulation. Increasing the level of insulation from R-12 to R-40 can reduce this area's heat loss by 50 per cent. (R- value indicates a material's resistance to heat flow.)

• Basements: Building a two-by-four stud wall inside your basement perimeter walls allows you to insulate to R-12. A suitable vapour barrier should be placed on the warm side of the wall. R-12 insulation can reduce a wall's heat loss by about 80 to 85 per cent.

• Exterior walls: In older homes, contractors usually blow insulating material into a cavity, after drilling small holes between the studs at ceiling level. This can be done either from inside or outside your home. In cases where the existing outside wall has no insulation, the addition of R-12 insulation can cut heat loss by about 35 to 40 per cent.




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Home > Home Ownership > Energy Economics > Conserving And Insulating

December 4, 2008