R-bitrary numbers mean nothing
April 14th, 2009 at 8:49am
Our nation’s fixation on R-value for our insulation is ridiculous. Large scale testing has proven that an air barrier is far more effective than any R number. Take this one experiment- where a duplex had half the attic insulated with R-20 Foam and the other half with R-30 batts.
When the snow came, the roof with R-30 batt had no snow, and the R-20 foam side had snow.
That means the higher R-value allowed more heat to escape because it didn’t have an air barrier.
Stop the air flow, stop the heat and money loss. Period.
Posted in Energy Saving


