Best home insulation?

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4play

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I recently built my house, its 100% foam, even all of the garage, and the joining wall into the house. The garage has a 2.5t mini split heat pump, house has a 5t pump, 2500sq ft with oversized 3 car garage. I have CO2 detectors, humidity monitoring and never have been close to alarming levels on anything. The house is full electric with people who like to leave every dang light on in the house, also blasting the a/c and heat too. Average elec bill is around 100 per month. it gets around 150 in the hottest of summer or coldest of winter. With the exception of internet, this in the only utility bill I have.

R-value is not really a fair comparison to use when comparing others to foam. Foam insulation seals all the nooks and crannies, and provides an air tight seal, no drafts or air/temp exchange. I was warned about heat pumps being a colder heat, it's not at all since there are no drafts in the house, its very comfortable. Insulation is very important, and will probably be the expense that pays you back first. It amazes me that some people would rather budget furniture, flooring or landscaping etc. before insulation.
 

rawhide

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I recently built my house, its 100% foam, even all of the garage, and the joining wall into the house. The garage has a 2.5t mini split heat pump, house has a 5t pump, 2500sq ft with oversized 3 car garage. I have CO2 detectors, humidity monitoring and never have been close to alarming levels on anything. The house is full electric with people who like to leave every dang light on in the house, also blasting the a/c and heat too. Average elec bill is around 100 per month. it gets around 150 in the hottest of summer or coldest of winter. With the exception of internet, this in the only utility bill I have.

R-value is not really a fair comparison to use when comparing others to foam. Foam insulation seals all the nooks and crannies, and provides an air tight seal, no drafts or air/temp exchange. I was warned about heat pumps being a colder heat, it's not at all since there are no drafts in the house, its very comfortable. Insulation is very important, and will probably be the expense that pays you back first. It amazes me that some people would rather budget furniture, flooring or landscaping etc. before insulation.
Open or closed cell foam?
I have no doubt foam will give us the lowest electric bill. What I don't know is how much my bill will be with just r19 bats in 6" walls & r30 blown in the attic or blown at about r22 & r50. Will the difference be enough to offset upfront expense?
 

-Pjackso

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That article is terrible. They are trying to sell you something.
R-value is merely the ability to resist heat-flow.


Rawhide,
What you are wanting is a heat-load analysis - and the respective costs ($) to supplement the heat loss (or gain).
It will be strongly dependent on your proposed home design, orientation, air-infiltration factors, windows (solar-gain), etc.
Your builder (or architect) should have software to help determine this. (If not, ask other builders)

Open-cell foam insulation has approximately the same value as fiberglass insulation.
Current building practices uses 'house wrap' to cut down on air-infiltration (regardless of insulation type), so the advantage of foam isn't as pronounced anymore.


More insulating R-value is better (of course) and will have a long-lasting passive effect of reduced heating costs.
If you want an ROI estimate - then talk to your builder.
Have them run the simulations based on multiple build scenarios (foam, fiberglass, and oversized walls w/fiberglass, etc).
 

doctorjj

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That article is terrible. They are trying to sell you something.
R-value is merely the ability to resist heat-flow.


Rawhide,
What you are wanting is a heat-load analysis - and the respective costs ($) to supplement the heat loss (or gain).
It will be strongly dependent on your proposed home design, orientation, air-infiltration factors, windows (solar-gain), etc.
Your builder (or architect) should have software to help determine this. (If not, ask other builders)

Open-cell foam insulation has approximately the same value as fiberglass insulation.
Current building practices uses 'house wrap' to cut down on air-infiltration (regardless of insulation type), so the advantage of foam isn't as pronounced anymore.


More insulating R-value is better (of course) and will have a long-lasting passive effect of reduced heating costs.
If you want an ROI estimate - then talk to your builder.
Have them run the simulations based on multiple build scenarios (foam, fiberglass, and oversized walls w/fiberglass, etc).
As far as house wrap stopping air leaks, typical installations leave a lot to be desired. Look at some blower door testing.
https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/59648/Does-Your-Air-Barrier-Work-in-Both-Directions
 

John6185

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doctorjj

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Yes sir, I have those retrofit lights already. Thanks for the update because the ones you referred to are more reasonable than Lowes or HD.
Here’s a pic of one of mine. This pretty much completely seals any air loss from the can or around the trim.
 

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John6185

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Here’s a pic of one of mine. This pretty much completely seals any air loss from the can or around the trim.
I read somewhere not the internet recently that this guy couldn't get to all his can lights so he sealed it from within the room. He used duct tape to cover the holes inside the light, foamed around the drywall where the light sits and then he used these retrofit lights with a gasket and apparent;ly he has no energy leaks. I went into Lowes one day looking for a replacement retrofit light because one of mine had burned out after several years and one of the salesmen on the floor working electric told me that there was. pallet of those retrofit lights on closeout. I believe they were around $4.50 each so I bought 10 of them-jus tin case.
 

farmer17

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I wouldn't worry too much about a perfect seal on can lights in the ceiling if you have 14 inches of blown in insulation over the top of them. Also most houses built in OK for the last 10 years have Zip Board exterior sheathing that is taped at every joint, crack, door, and window, and if you pay for the super caulk package that makes the house envelope pretty darn tight.
 

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