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Energy Conservation... In Your Home
The Building Shell Of Your House
The building shell of your home is the area that stands between you and the outdoors. That includes the ceilings, walls, windows, floors, and foundation of your home. The building shell insulates you from the outside temperatures. The right amount and type of insulation in the building shell and limiting the amount of air leakage in the building shell will help keep heating and cooling costs low.
Recommended Insulation and Efficiency Levels for Montana and the Montana Energy Code Minimum Insulation Levels
- Ceilings R-49
- Walls R-21
- Crawlspace wall R-19 or crawlspace floor R-30
- Basements R-19
- Window U-value U- .33
- Furnace AFUE rating 90%
First Steps
First, check the insulation levels in your ceilings, exterior walls, basement and crawlspace to see if it meets the levels recommended above for Montana. In an existing home it may be difficult and expensive to meet these guidelines in all cases. Some measures, such as adding additional ceiling insulation can be done easily in many homes. If your ceiling is insulated with vermiculite insulation it is best not to disturb the insulation due to the potential of exposure to asbestos fibers contained in the vermiculite. Hire only trained professionals if you want to safely remove this material from your attic.
EnergySavers.gov is the U.S. Department of Energy’s website for specific steps on how to conserve energy and save money at home. It has extensive links to a broad range of informational resources on saving energy at home, work or school.
ENERGY STAR: visit their home improvement page. Energy Star is sponsored by US EPA.
Home Energy Yardstick allows you to compare your home's energy performance to other homes and estimate the potential for improvement. The tool will compare your home to others after adjusting for size, age, location, and the number of people living in it. This tool is part of the ENERGY STAR site.
EnergyIdeas Their Q and A on energy questions, on the Solutions page, is particularly good. Energy Ideas is sponsored by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and the Washington State University Cooperative Extension Service Energy Program.
DOE EERE Information Center has all sorts of technical information and publications.
