Home Insulation and the “R” factor
Get a rating of your insulation from your home inspector and ask for any suggestions on upgrades. Expect most older homes to be lacking in this area. It’s a good idea to ask the seller agent what the average electric bill runs in the winter and in the spring. This will be a good determining factor to determining if replacing the insulation or adding insulation would be worth the cost.
What is an acceptable R-value? Values vary in different climates. The higher the R-value the more effective the insulation is. For Tennessee (a moderate climate) having R-13-15 in the walls and R-28-38 in the ceilings is ideal. www.energy.gov has more specific area charts.
