Retrofits

If you have an older house, the insulation may not be giving you the comfort and energy savings you expect. You might quite literally be losing money through the roof.

Regardless of how old your house is you should always see if there is enough insulation in the attic. To calculate your potential energy savings, use our Savings Calculator to determine what’s right for you.

To determine if you have enough insulation, measure the depth of insulation in your attic. If you have 13-14 inches of cellulose insulation or 19 inches of blown fiberglass you should be at the right R-49 level. If you are less than that, there is an opportunity to save money by installing more cellulose insulation on top of the existing insulation.

How do you know if you have sufficient insulation? View your roof after a snow storm and compare it to your neighbor’s roofs with similar orientation and sun exposure. If your house has no snow, that means your house is heating the roof and your insulation level is insufficient.

If the attic is correctly insulated and the house still seems to be “leaking heat” in winter or getting too hot in summer, it may mean that you need to add insulation into your sidewalls, crawl spaces or your basement.

Already constructed walls can still be retrofitted with cellulose insulation without having to rip out any fiberglass batts that may be in the wall. This technique (“Drill and Fill”) is a three-step process that will effectively fill an existing wall cavity with FTI cellulose insulation. The first step requires an insulation contractor to drill a hole either from the exterior or interior. The second step involves placing an insulation machine’s hose into the hole and fill the cavity until material flows backwards from the hose. The last step is patching the hole. This procedure is replicated for each cavity.

For people concerned about possible insect or mold contamination, adding FTI cellulose insulation can minimize the risks. Click here to find the correct FTI product for retrofits.

(Sources: US Department Of Energy: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy – Moisture Control)