new homes & insulation

Bet on very high levels of insulation for your new home. A super-insulated home will make your it several degrees cooler in summer and several degrees warmer in winter.

A poor insulated house may lose up to 50% of its heating and cooling through the House Insulation using wood framing roof and ceiling, or through walls and floors. In temperate climates insulation can eliminate the need for a cooling and heating system (small heaters or fans will respond to the short periods with more demanding needs).

In cold climates a super-insulated house will demand a much smaller heating system (eventually it may eliminate the need of a central heating system).

See:
Heating for New Homes
Central Heating for New Homes
Space Heating for New Homes

Existing homes vs. New homes

Adding more insulation in existing buildings can be rather expensive, but installing high levels of insulation to new homes will pay itself in a short time with extra comfort and much smaller heating and cooling needs…

Insulation is the single most important element of the energy-efficiency of your new home.

Continuous insulation

Bet on a continuous insulation all over the thermal boundary of your new home. The insulation should follow the same path around the shell of the building, without interruptions.

Image on left: diagram for a two-storey home (with basement); the continuous insulation is represented in red.

Insulation Materials & performance

There are many types of insulation materials. Traditional fiberglass, cellulose and mineral wool are cheap alternatives, but modern plastic materials like polyurethane foam are experiencing a growing popularity due to their effectiveness.

These several insulation materials are presented in many forms (loose-fill, batts, blanket, sprays...) and have different uses (walls, ceilings, floors...) and different degrees of effectiveness (the performance of the insulation materials is given with an 'R-value'; the greater the 'R-value' of a material the more effective the insulation).

See, for details: Insulation Basics and Insulation materials

The insulation levels

There are now mandatory insulation minimums in many states, but they may not be enough or the ideal ones. In cold climates, attic insulation should involve levels between R-40 and R-60, cathedral ceilings should be tightly insulated, walls should have minimum levels of R-12 to R-22 and foundation walls should benefit from 2 to 4 inches of foam (a minimum of R-10).

See: Insulation performance

SIPs, ICF's and other new wall insulation methods

There are new methods of wall construction, providing very high levels of insulation. They are an alternative to traditional wall construction and insulation.

See:
Structural Insulated Panels
Insulated Concrete Forms
Aerated Concrete
Advanced wood framing