What is Insulation? – Insulation is a material designed to prevent heat from being transmitted from one area to another. It’s normally used to keep heat  in or out of your home. Insulation can work in a number of different ways, but it generally incorporates materials that consist of their high thermal resistance.

Heat flow, involves three basic mechanisms — conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction is the way heat moves through materials, such as when you place a pot on the burner or an iron in the fire. Convection is the way heat circulates through liquids and gases, and is why lighter, warmer air rises, and cooler, denser air sinks in your home. Radiant heat travels in a straight line and heats anything solid in its path that absorbs its energy. Insulating materials work by slowing the conductive heat flow from one area to another.

Properly Insulating the Attic (25% heat loss), Floors (15% heat loss) and Walls (35% heat loss) with the right type and R-Value of insulation you can have an impact on energy consumption and in turn save money…$. (all heat loss values are approx.)

What is Thermal Resistance or R-Value? – An insulating material’s resistance to conductive heat flow is measured or rated in terms of its thermal resistance or R-value, the higher the R-value, the greater the insulating effectiveness. The R-value depends on the type of insulation, its thickness, and its density. Generally you can increase the R-Value by adding additional insulating materials which increases it’s thickness.

R values and their metric equivalent, RSI values, are a way of labelling the effectiveness of insulating materials. The higher the R value or RSI value, the more resistance the material has to the movement of heat. Insulation products sold in Canada are labelled with R and RSI values.

How much Insulation Do I need? – The amount of insulation required will be based on where you live (zone), your heating equipments efficiency rating (AFUE) and what your trying to insulate. Home Depot has a basic matrix on their website which may help or you can also check out the OBC Energy Efficiency Standard. This (OBC) Ontario Building Code and Energy Star will require more reading and understanding of codes. ENERGY STAR® for New Homes Standard – Version 12.6 Effective: 22 April 2015 may also provide information on new home construction and energy savings – Insulation levels for Ontario can be found starting at 6.9.4.

At the end I highly recommend you contact a qualified contractor who can assess your current condition and or project and can provide the necessary type and amount of insulation…you may also be entitled to rebates.

One last thought – You may benefit with additional insulation, but please keep in mind that insulation alone may not be enough.  How old are your windows and doors? Have you properly weather stripped your doors and windows? Air sealing around protrusions such as electrical sockets, recessed lights etc can be a major loss in conditioned air. Properly maintained furnaces and A/C. Depending on how old your house is, your walls may have very little to no insulation value. All of these may play a part in conditioned air loss or lack of energy efficiency (heat or A/C).

Also, will you actually benefit with more attic insulation. What if you already have an R-Value of 32-40 in your attic, will you actually benefit by adding more insulation based on a cost to savings aspect?. Sooner or later somebody may knock on your door and push you into spending money…just make sure it’s something you actually need.