At Fixya.com, our trusted experts are meticulously vetted and possess extensive experience in their respective fields. Backed by a community of knowledgeable professionals, our platform ensures that the solutions provided are thoroughly researched and validated.
Best insulation is by making thermocool ceiling. Next easiest thing is put curtain to all windows. Avoid dumping unused materials inside the ac room as it also produces some heat. Tnq
- If you need clarification, ask it in the comment box above.
- Better answers use proper spelling and grammar.
- Provide details, support with references or personal experience.
Tell us some more! Your answer needs to include more details to help people.You can't post answers that contain an email address.Please enter a valid email address.The email address entered is already associated to an account.Login to postPlease use English characters only.
Tip: The max point reward for answering a question is 15.
If you have enough room behind the stud wall install 1" rigid foam tape seams and then use the thickest possible roxsul insulation to fill the studs. Or axe the foam and install 6mil plastic on warm side of the wall after insulating tape all seams when done.
So you <span style="font-weight: bold;">can't afford the heating bills</span> but you <span style="font-weight: bold;">can't afford to insulate</span> the <span style="font-weight: bold;">whole house</span> like you would like to do. What part of the house makes the most sense to <span style="font-weight: bold;">insulate first</span>? There are some clear choices that will <span style="font-weight: bold;">give you the most for the least.</span><br /><br />Go to the attic and take a look to see what you have there. It's plain and simple. You should have learned it in high school. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Heat rises</span>. If you have <span style="font-weight: bold;">little or no insulation in your attic</span> then there is no question about what will give you the <span style="font-weight: bold;">best return for your money</span> spent. Buy whatever insulation you can find that will be able to be placed in your <span style="font-weight: bold;">attic space</span>. For some houses the <span style="font-weight: bold;">blown-in cellulose</span> will be the best option. For other houses you may be better off rolling out some<span style="font-weight: bold;"> fiberglass insulation</span>. Get help with your decision. Make sure that the person that you look to is not just trying to sell on their particular product. Find someone that handles multiple products or that sells no products but has a good knowledge of how to <span style="font-weight: bold;">insulate correctly</span>.<br /><br />The next best thing to do may not be nearly as clear. If you have very poor windows and your curtains look like a flag blowing in the breeze on a windy winter day then you should probably spend your money there. If you have good windows but <span style="font-weight: bold;">no insulation in the walls</span> then you need to insulate the walls. Depending on the way the house was built then you may have an easy job on a very hard one. Getting insulation in the walls of some houses is almost impossible. I live in a house that has brick on the outside, plaster on the inside and just a bit of an air gap in between. To get any insulation on the walls I would have to insulate on the inside and then stud the walls and then redo all of the spaces around the windows. To insulate the walls of my house would be a nightmare and very expensive.<br /><br />Just like with many things, there are sometimes that where to insulate is a very easy and clear choice. In many cases though, the choice is not nearly so clear. Seek the help of a professional to help make the choices that you need to make.
How large a space are you hoping to cool? One room? One LARGE room? One SMALL room? One floor of a two-story house? A whole four-story house?
What's your climate like where you live? Very hot, dry, year-round? Cool most of the year but two weeks of hot during the summer? Just a little too warm in summer? Blazing hot all summer, including nighttime?
How's the insulation in the building you want to cool? Is it a plain steel building with no insulation? Is it a trailer? Is it a frame house with 4" walls and R13 fiberglass insulation? An old frame house with no insulation? An adobe building? A timberframe house with 8" of polyisocyanurate foam insulation?
All these are important to know when you select an air conditioner.
For most of the USA, assuming a frame house with 4" of fiberglass insulation, a 10,000BTU air conditioner will cool one large room or two small rooms pretty well, or a 5,000BTU AC will do one medium-sized room. Different places, and different house designs, and different types & amounts of insulation, will all have a profound effect on how much AC you need/want.
Have you read this article about ways to improve door and window insulation in houses? I found a lot of great ideas here:
http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/4929532/list/Easy-Green--9-Low-Cost-Ways-to-Insulate-Windows-and-Doors
you have to take in accounts of how many windows, facing the sun, which way the house face during the day, attic insulations ,wall insulations, floor insulations, types of windows, its best to just have a professional do a load calucalation.
×