Insulation sounds like a really boring thing to even think about, but the number one recommendation coming from a home energy audit is almost always that: improving home insulation will decrease your energy bills and provide a more comfortable, less drafty home. But where to start?
There are some things you can do yourself, both easily and cheaply:
- Add foam padding around electrical outlets. EHow tells you how; just make sure you turn off the circuit breakers first!) These can be installed in less than a half hour, depending on the number of outlets in your house. Where to get them? Amazon, of course! Foam Outlet Insulators
- If air is still escaping through the socket themselves, get some child guards that plug into unused outlets. On cold days, you can really feel the difference, and you get a bonus of blocking something a toddler or dimwit might get hurt from! Outlet Plugs 36 Pack
- Add foam insulation around water pipes that may be exposed. These are pre-slit and super easy to install, and they are also relatively inexpensive. Just make sure you measure the diameter of your pipes so they fit properly. Foam Pipe Sticks – 0.5 inch
Then there are things you’ll need to hire someone to do, usually involving blowing or installing some sort of insulation in between walls and in attics. When we built our home, choosing the type of insulation was one of the most difficult decisions to make. Why? Because we were told that the best R value (a measure of how heat is transferred from one space to another- you want a high R value) was closed-cell spray foam insulation. It also has some structural integrity for durability, helps prevent mold from growing in between the walls, and is a good sound barrier.
So, what’s the downside? First, it’s more expensive–but the payoff over time in reduced energy costs I deemed worth it. But what really got to me was the MSDS sheet – the sheet that requires manufacturers to reveal all the ingredients and their potential hazards. It was seriously laden with known carcinogens, possible carcinogens, and to top it all off, workers had to be fully covered and masked to spray it. Once sprayed, though, it becomes inert, so that was reassuring! We ultimately went with spray foam insulation because nothing else would provide enough insulation in the walls that were already built.
Other options we looked at, and might be more appropriate for existing homes, were recycled cotton denim insulation (better for interior walls), blown cellulose, and the cotton-candy looking (but not feeling) fiberglass (which you can get formaldehyde-free, though I wouldn’t recommend fiberglass at all).
There are other great resources on the web about insulation, and there is not one right answer — except that any insulation is better than no insulation.