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eat passes through ceilings, walls, and floors from the warm side to the cool side. Insulation slows this transfer of heat out of a heated house in winter and into a cooled one in summer. A well-insulated house requires less heating and cooling to maintain a comfortable indoor climate, and that translates directly into smaller energy bills.
How much insulation you need depends on where you live and the part of the house to be insulated. But the kind of insulation and how much of it you already have also figure in the calculation. In an unfinished space, you can easily measure insulation thickness. The photographs on the facing page can help you identify the type of insulation that you have.
To check finished exterior walls for insulation, remove an outlet coverplate near the baseboard. Reach into the wall beside the box with a coat-hanger wire bent into a hook and fish out some insulation. Between a floor and a ceiling, drill a 3/8-inch hole through the floor in an inconspicuous space.
Gently stand a soda straw in the hole and mark it at floor level. Subtract the distance from the mark to the end of the straw from the height of your joists plus flooring to gauge how thick the insulation is.
This illustration shows both where to check for insulation and where to add some if you find none or not enough. Instructions begin HERE for insulating just about every part of your house--including your water heater and hot water pipes.
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Gently stand a soda straw in the hole and mark it at floor level. Subtract the distance from the mark to the end of the straw from the height of your joists plus flooring to gauge how thick the insulation is.