Having adequate insulation in your home is the most important factor to keeping your home hot in the winter and cool in the summer.  However, most homes have barely the recommended levels of insulation, which results in hot or cold spots.  The rooms most affected by this are any rooms over a non-heated space, like a room over the garage. 

The most common type of insulation is fiberglass.  Most often, in areas like the attic, fiberglass insulation is blown in to a recommended depth.  However, over time voids can be created in the insulation, making your rooms not as efficient as they could be.  The advantage to blown insulation comes when you need to add wiring or plumbing after construction.  Batt insulation is better in the sense that it can be stapled or taped to fit tightly against the joists.  However, tight areas can present a problem and voids. 

The newest type of insulation on the block is Spray Foam insulation.  Similar to what you can get at your local home store, the foam expands when heated and fills the voids.  Like batt and blown in, there are varing types so make sure you work with a professional to get the type that’s right for your application.  The manufacturers of the spray foam insulation claim between a 35-50% decreased energy costs over similar fiberglass.  With savings like that, you should recover the added costs of the initial installation rather quickly. 

There’s only one downside and that your walls will be solid and so adding cables or wiring will be significantly more difficult.  However, planning before hand by adding things like conduit, will help in this situation. 

  Sincerely;
Jonathan Osman
The Charlotte House Hunter
Charlotte NC Homes, Charlotte Real Estate