If you’re finding us odds are you own a home or would like to look into whether the home you live in is properly insulated. While many other reasons may have brought you here, there is one thing everyone finding this info is interested in, and that’s saving money. Fortunately for you, a properly insulated home, is a sure way to put some money back in your pocket.“Why should I make sure my home is up to code on insulation?” The truth is, there are a numerous amount of codes relating insulation, they vary by location, all the way down to city level code reinforcement. Ultimately, they are all followed by the IECC (International Energy Conservation Code) you can retrieve a copy of this guide if you contact ICC or visit www.iccsafe.org. The guide provides a comprehensive climate zone map, however, this guide is an energy compliance aid, it is not designed to reflect the actual energy code, with amendments, if any, adopted in your state and does not, therefore, provide guarantee for meeting the state energy code.
In the guide(Table 1.1), we show Bexar County and surrounding in Climate Zone 2, this means the R-Value for the ceiling insulation will have to meet R-38 standards, Wood Framed Wall will have to meet R-13 standards, Mass Walls will be R-4/6, and Floor with an R-Value of R-13. What is R-Value? In the simplest terms, R-value is the capacity of the insulating material to resist heat flow, the higher the R-Value, the greater the insulating power. If you would like to know more about R-Values, follow this link.
In many homes insulation is the most practical and cost-effective way to make your home more energy efficient. It reduces our energy consumption and also helps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Bottom line is, a properly insulated home, as a result means more money in your pocket, and let’s face it, we all love seeing that electric bill shrink down to the double digits.
Table 1.1:
Table 1.2:
Source: http://insulationinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/TX-2012.pdf