Insulation & Energy
8 articles · A–Z master index
Air Sealing
- Air Sealing a House: Where the Leaks Actually Are — Why air leakage beats insulation shortfalls on most energy bills: the stack effect, the attic-plane leak map from top plates to can lights, the rim and basement band, the tools, and the tightness question.
- Rim Joist Insulation and Sealing — The leakiest band in the house and the coldest framing in the basement: why fiberglass alone fails there, the cut-and-cobble foam board method, spray foam's case, and the condensation rule that governs both.
- Weatherstripping Doors and Windows — The flashlight-and-dollar-bill audit, the weatherstrip family from V-strip to door sweeps and thresholds, matching material to gap and motion, and the yearly renewal habit that keeps it working.
Diagnostics
- Home Energy Audits: What They Find — The blower door and infrared camera explained, what a professional audit actually measures and reports, the DIY version's honest reach, the incentive landscape, and turning findings into a sequenced plan.
Insulation
- Attic Insulation: Reading Depth and Coverage — The ruler-and-flashlight attic audit: converting inches to R by material, the joists-visible rule of thumb, the coverage sins from wind-washed eaves to buried cans, and topping up done right.
- Insulation Types Compared: Fiberglass, Cellulose, Foam, and Mineral Wool — The four residential insulation families by R-value per inch, air-sealing ability, moisture behavior, and cost, where each belongs, and the misinstallation that halves any of them.
- Recommended R-Values by Region — What R-value actually measures, the climate-zone map that sets the targets, the attic-wall-floor-basement numbers by zone, and why the attic gets the big number while walls get the hard ceiling.
Windows
- Storm Windows vs. Replacement Windows — The energy math nobody expects: why low-e storm windows deliver most of replacement's performance at a fraction of the cost, when replacement genuinely wins, and the old-house preservation case.