ENERGY

Keep the temp right where you want.

Install or improve your home’s insulation. Take this step and decide a level of commitment that works for you. Try it for a month to see how you do.

Try it

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What type of climate do you live in?

Insulate Your Home

When your home has poor insulation, you need to use more energy to keep a comfortable room temperature. Up to 60 percent of energy used to heat and cool a home is wasted when you can’t keep unwanted air out. Whether you’re improving your home or building one from scratch, insulation is one of the most practical and cost-effective ways to make buildings more energy efficient. You’ll be warmer in the winter, and cooler in the summer without having to run heaters, fans or air conditioning units that contribute unnecessarily to carbon emissions and your monthly expenses.

Individual Impact

Combined Impact

Effort

Tips

You can insulate your roof, windows, floors and walls. Ask an expert to help determine where you need it most and how much you need.

If you decide to DIY, only use approved materials that are safe. Your energy supplier might subsidize or even pay for your insulation.

If your windows are more than 10 years old, you could have a significant impact on your carbon emissions by replacing them with multi-layered panes, reflective coatings or insulating gas between panes. If your windows are newer, make sure they’re well-sealed.

Benefits

At a relatively low cost to install and with a long lifespan, insulation results in lower utility bills and carbon emissions for years to come, while keeping out moisture and improving air quality. Damp in homes causes mould which can affect lung health.

If you’re improving your window insulation, high performance glass is more efficient for heating and cooling, and also lets in light and outdoor views, reducing the energy load for lighting.

Steps

REFERENCES

Air infiltration accounts for 25–60 percent of energy used to heat and cool a home—energy that is simply wasted.
Project Drawdown, Insulation
High performance glass reduces the energy load for lighting and improves heating and cooling efficiency.
Project Drawdown, High Performance Glass
Impact metric calculations
To determine the carbon emission reduction estimates related to adopting a home and window insulation, the following calculation were performed:
Home insulation
((1/thermal resistance value before insulation improvement) - (1/thermal resistance value after insulation improvement)) x (surface area) x ((interior temperature) - (exterior temperature)) x (hours of cooling/heating per year) x (0.33 kgCO2e/kWh emission factor) = kg CO2e / month
Window insulation
(((1/thermal resistance value before insulation improvement) - (1/thermal resistance value after insulation improvement)) x (surface area) + 1.08 x (air infiltration rate) x ((interior temperature) - (exterior temperature)) x (hours per year) x (0.33 kgCO2e/kWh emission factor) = kg CO2e / month
For detailed calculations, references and assumptions, please see our Methodology page.

Impact metric calculations