Insulating Your Chicago Home - Home Insulation Guide

Insulating Your Chicago Home

By Dave Badger

Much like the rest of the Midwest, Chicago Illinois has a climate that is prone to extreme shifts in weather conditions. The city experiences four distinct seasons. The coldest month is January, with temperatures getting as low as 13 °F (%26#8722;11 °C) on average, while in July, the warmest month, high temperatures average 84 °F (29 °C).

The climate of the city makes Chicago home insulation a very important topic - one which will be reviewed in detail in this article. The term home insulation refers to materials, methods and processes used to reduce the rate of heat transfer. Insulating your home makes the home more energy-efficient and absorbs noise and vibration, both coming from the outside and from other rooms inside the house. Another advantage of insulating your home is that the temperature gradient between the exterior shell (walls, ceiling, ground floor) and the interior is less. Furthermore, home insulation, once applied, is permanent and does not require any maintenance, upkeep, or adjustment.

Insulating can be the ideal solution for your home if you are spending too much on your monthly energy bills. This is most likely because according to the Department of Energy, 44%25 of the energy used in the average American home goes toward heating and cooling. For example, if the walls or floors are not well insulated, a large part of your costly, conditioned air may be making a beeline for the great outdoors. It is natural for heat to move from a warmer to a cooler space according to law in the science of thermodynamics. Home insulation prevents this by retarding heat in its natural quest to move from a warmer to a cooler space. During the cold winter days, your home has a higher temperature than the outside environment, so the warm air tries to exit through walls, rises up through the attic and roof, and flows down through the floor, but the insulating blocks slow down its departure. And in the summer, when warm outdoor temperatures try to force their way into your air-conditioned rooms, insulation holds the heat at bay.

Nearly all older homes, unless they have been recently insulated, are most likely lacking it. Some of the houses built in the last few years also might not have optimal levels of insulation. Even if one owns a new home, adding insulation helps save money and increase the resale value of the house.

Your first step when insulating your home is to call your local utility company for information on getting an "energy audit."

The R-value measures how well the insulation resists heat flow. This varies according to the type and thickness of the material. The climate in Chicago is somewhat moderate, although there are some extreme days, but the recommended R-value by the Department of Energy is R-19 in walls and under floors and R-38 in ceilings below ventilated attics.

The following categories of insulation materials and method of installation are available- batts and blankets, loose-fill, blown-in, plastic foam, rigid boards and reflective insulation.

Please visit The Chicago Real Estate Report for more information on Chicago Homes and Gardens.

About the Author

Chicago Real Estate Specialist