Your family cabin now has a roof that is rectangular, 60 feet by 20 feet, and is

Question

Your family cabin now has a roof that is rectangular, 60 feet by 20 feet, and is covered by 2 inch thick hardwood siding and tapped wood shingles. You propose adding 2 inches of cellulose fiber insulation under the hardwood. You maintain the temperature inside the cabin at 70 degrees Fahrenheit and the outside temperature during the winter averages about 30 degrees. You heat the cabin with propane that has energy content of about 92,000 Btu per gallon and costs $1.60 per gallon. Calculate the difference in heat loss through the roof if you add the insulation compared to the current roof and calculate the potential monetary savings in one week from adding the insulation. Show all calculations

Explanation / Answer

Your options for insulating your roof will depend on the type of roof you have. Pitched (sloping) roofs are more straightforward and there are more options to choose from, while flat roofs and dormer roofs are more of a challenge to insulate. What is the difference between a warm loft and a cold loft? If you have a typical house with a sloping roof, or have the top flat in a block and are responsible for the loft space and roof above, you can either choose to have a warm loft or a cold loft: A warm loft is where you insulate immediately under the roof, which means your loft space is warm as well. A cold loft is where you insulate immediately above the ceiling of the top storey, so no heat from your home gets into your loft. Cost-wise, there are a range of options available, some of which are relatively inexpensive. Some are easy to do yourself, others require more DIY experience, and some require specialist equipment and need to be carried out by a professional. Energy-efficiency grants are currently available for cold loft roof insulation. Warm roof solutions are generally more expensive, but they can provide a greater level of heat retention. Also, you can more easily use the loft to store temperature-sensitive items, as a 'cold roof' can get very hot in the summer. What type of loft insulation is easiest to install? The simplest and cheapest loft insulation solution is the classic cold loft option. This involves insulating between and over the wooden joists immediately above the ceiling of your top floor. This is generally the only grant-funded option, although it is also fairly easy to do as a DIY project.

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