Save Money By Insulating Basement Walls

Insulating basement walls is one of the best ways to save money on your heating and cooling bills. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, heating costs consume up to 40 to 60 percent of the household electric bill. Proper insulation of your basement walls prevent heat from escaping in your basement lowering your heating costs. Below are the types of basement insulation available today along with the advantages of insulating your basement walls.

Preventing Heat Flow: Key to Lower your Electric Bill

The less heat flow your basement has the less energy you need to warm or cool it. Heat flows from warm space to cool space. During winter, heated air coming from the heated rooms escape to unheated spaces of your house such as your garage and basement and even outside your house resulting to heat loss. To minimize this loss you will have to use your heating system more during winter and your cooling system during warm seasons. Properly insulating key areas of your house such as your basement will prevent heat flow and minimize your use of the air-conditioning system.

Types of Basement Insulation

The various types of basement insulation are:

• Sprayed Foam Insulation
• Foam Board Insulation
• Blanket Insulation
• Loose-Fill Insulation
• Insulating Concrete form

Sprayed foam insulation use Polyurethane, Phenolic, Cementitious and Polyisocyanurate as insulating materials and is ideal for insulating already finished areas as well as irregular shaped areas.

Foam board insulation uses Polystyrene, Polyuerthane, Polyisocyanurate and Polyiso as insulating materials. 

Blanket insulation uses Plastic Fibers, Fiberglass, Natural Fibers, Wool and Rocks.

Loose-fill insulation uses Fiberglass, Wool, Cellulose and Slaq as insulating materials. Using a special equipment, the insulating materials are blasted into place.

Insulating Concrete forms uses Foam boards as insulating materials. This type of insulation is built into the walls and has high thermal resistance. 

Exterior Insulation

Exterior insulation is applying insulation to the outside walls of your basement. Exterior insulation has many advantages such as:

• Preserves the room area compared to interior insulation.
• Prevents thermal bridging and minimizing heat loss through the foundation of the basement walls.
• Effectively prevents moisture intrusion by serving as a capillary break.
• In areas with severe climate, prevents the freeze-thaw cycle thus protecting the integrity of the foundation of your basement walls.
• Prevents basement surface condensation.

Interior insulation is applying insulation from the inside walls of your basement. Interior insulation has its advantages such as:

• Interior insulation is cheaper to install compared to exterior insulation especially in already existing buildings.
• Protects your basement space from the cold earth better than exterior insulation.
• You can choose a wide array of insulation materials compared to exterior insulation.
• Interior insulation also prevents insect infestations.

Yearly Energy Savings

The amount of savings you can acquire through insulating your basement walls vary with your fuel cost, local climate, lifestyle and the type of heating system that you are using. The greater the cost of your energy source the more money you will save in insulating your basement walls. 

Insulating your basement walls is not only cost effective but also environment friendly. Make sure to look up your local building code before deciding on the type of basement insulation that you will use.