It’s easy to determine where your home may need insulation on a cold, Upper Cumberland night. Walk through your home and pay close attention to the various comfort levels. For instance – is it cooler in the laundry/mud room where the back door is located – as compared to a kitchen or bedroom in the middle of the house? A good rule of thumb is that all heated areas should be separated from un-heated areas with plenty of insulation. Regardless of your home’s layout, you can use this rule to determine where insulation should be installed.

A corner room with two walls facing the outdoors might be colder than one that is sandwiched between a bath and another bedroom down the hall. Each area will have its own priority in terms of insulation ease and cost-effectiveness and should be evaluated on the basis of both.

To know if your home currently has enough insulation, contact an area contractor to find out the recommended insulation levels for various parts of a home here in the Upper Cumberland. They will be able to tell you if your home meets the recommended R-Values for ceilings, walls and floors.

In order of cost-effectiveness for an existing home, it generally pays to insulate in this order:

• Attic or roof
• Foundation or floor,
• Windows
• Walls.

If you’re still unsure of where to begin, you may want to have an energy audit.