September 22, 2024 • 23 mins
Dean is here to help you take your home to the next level by talking insulation. It's not just about keeping warm—insulation stops energy transfer, keeping the outside out and the inside in. Even in Southern California, proper insulation is crucial, especially if your home was built before 1972. Dean explains how good insulation saves you money, the importance of R-values, and why it's a better investment than replacing windows.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp, the
House Whisper on demand on the iHeart Radio app. Hey,
welcome to home where. Every week we help you better
understand that place where you live. I am Dean Sharp,
the house Whisperer, custom home builder, custom home designer. Most importantly, today,
(00:23):
your guide to turning your ordinary house into something truly extraordinary.
We're talking well, it's not the sexiest topic in the world,
but it is really really important. We're talking insulation today. Insulation.
We're going to try and take as deep a dive
as possible into this subject so that you stop wasting
(00:45):
money on energy and get your home as tightly put
together as possible. And whether you are building a new home,
whether you've got a very very very old home, and
you want to know how do I am prove it's
insulating value. Well, don't go anywhere, because we're gonna cover
it all and we're gonna take some calls as we do.
(01:08):
The number to reach me, by the way, the phone
lines are open. Producer Matt standing by uh. The number
to reach me eight three three two. Ask Dean A
three three The numeral two deep. Ask Dean A three
three two, ask Dean. Phone lines are open now. There
is room for you when it comes to calls. By
the way, anything you want to talk about. I'm talking insulation,
(01:31):
but you can talk to me about whatever is on
your mind about your home today. And if we do
it all right, we're gonna bring some light into your morning.
We're gonna make you feel glad that you were here.
We're getting a little bit of a late start. That Jesus,
he can just talk and talk, doesn't he. No, No,
I'm looking up. No, just all right. It was just
(01:51):
a joke. The team is here for you. Elmer is
on the board. Good morning, Elmer, good morning, Good morning. Producer. Matt,
like I said, is standing by, away from the microphone,
but ready to take your calls. Eileen Gonzalez at the
news desk, Good morning, boss, Good morning.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
How's it going.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I'm good, I'm good. It is Did you know this?
It's the first day of autumn today. I did.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
I saw that the equinox today.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Yeah, it's got me feeling great. This is my favorite
time of year, my favorite season, my all time favorite no,
no question whatsoever. I am born and raised Southern California boy,
and I love autumn. I should have I should have
been born and raised somewhere, you know, in the in
New England. Probably probably it might take.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
A while for it to really kick in and get cooler.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
But yeah, yeah, it's gonna take a while, is it.
But I can already tell and I don't think I'm
making it up. And some people say I'm crazy every year,
I don't think I'm making it up. I can tell
already that the quality of the air has changed. I
mean there's a there's a shift in it. It's a
little dryer, and it's a little I don't know, it's
a little something. Plus the sycamore tree in my yard
have all dropped their leaves, so they're like, yeah, we're done,
(03:03):
we're done. We feel like you. We're done, We're ready
to go.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
And the coconut oil. That's how I can tell.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
The coconut oil. What is gone at oil?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
When it's when it's wiley, that's when it's it's warm.
And then when jeels that's cooler, weather's on the way.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
There you go, all right, well, that makes perfect sense,
perfect sense. The litmus test. Hey, sitting across the table
from me, there, she is my better half, my design partner,
my best buddy Tina is here. Oh I was right
out of the blue.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
I had to clear my throat. Welcome home.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Good morning, Bud, good morning, how you doing good? All right?
So the three quick reasons why it's an important day,
well four actually one first day of autumn. I already
covered that. Two last day of the work week for
you and me.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Well day of the work week for Sunday. But you know,
we work pretty much seven days a week.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
But it's still but this is it, this is it,
and then we get a little break, We get a
little break.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
That's true.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Okay, it's also your mom's birthday, birthday, won't you send
some birthday love to your mom. We're gonna have lunch
with her.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yep, she's gonna get lunch with the family. Favorite thing.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
There you go, Happy birthday, mom. And also the first
day after we finished our new water feature and built
the little bridge yesterday, oh my gosh, for which I
am not at all sore muscularly speaking. But there it
is looking good.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
It looks great.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Maybe you'll piece together a little video and pop it up,
give everybody a little preview.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
I can throw up that I did yesterday, even though.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
It's not painted or anything like that, but fun. It's
something to look at some all right, everybody, let's have
a little news and when we come back, we'll dive
right in insulation. I'm so glad you have joined us
this this morning. You're Home with Dean Sharp the house Whisper.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Hey, whether you are living in a condo right now
or a cottage or a castle, it's the place you
call home. I am here to help you take it
to the next level, especially today. Oh yeah, oh yeah,
because it's a sexy topic. Today, it's so sexy. Because
so you might want to just dim the lights, maybe
(05:31):
light a candle right now, pour a glass of wine
for you and your significant other, put on a little
mood music, you know, a little boum chicken boum boum.
Because we're talking insulation. Yeah, I know, insulation the least
sexy topic. Maybe there is there a less sexy topic
(05:54):
than insulation. Probably not, But when it comes to practical
import it's hard to beat this one, especially when it
comes to the dollars that you are spending to improve
your home. Okay, So let's let's talk about one thing. First,
phone lines are open. The number to reach me about
(06:15):
anything this morning. We're going to be going to the
phones in just a bit eight three three two Ask
dean A three three the numeral two ask dean. Okay. Insulation.
The reason that this is such an important topic is
that nothing saves you more money for less money spent. Really,
(06:37):
it's got to be at the top of the list,
if not very very close to the top of the list.
The average cost of buying yourself a new HVAC system
because you want to keep the house cooler or warmer
than the system that you've got going right now, you know,
I mean these days, that ranges around, on average about
fifteen dollars. The average cost of window replacement or an
(07:01):
average size home about twelve thousand dollars. The average cost
of attic insulation for the average size home about two
thousand dollars. That is a fraction of the other two.
And the fact of the matter is the other two
don't actually in a direct way save you the kind
of energy that insulation does. We'll talk more about that
(07:23):
as we get into those specifics. The vast majority of
southern California homes are severely under insulated. That's not necessarily
the case across the country. It just has a lot
to do with how southern California developed. You know, we
were East Coast transplants. The whole moved to California ever
(07:44):
since the eighteen forties in the gold Rush, East coast transplants,
and so the misunderstanding of insulation down through the decades
was carried with us from the East Coast. And what
do I mean by misunderstanding. I mean this that insulation
is about keeping your housewarm. So and I ask homeowners
(08:09):
this all the time. I say, you know, what does
insulation do? And if the answer I get back is
it keeps the housewarm, I look at them and I smile,
and I say, you are part of the problem in
a nice way, in a nice way, because insulation does,
of course keep the housewarm, but that's only half of
what it does, and that's not essentially what insulation is.
(08:32):
So we're going to cut right to the bone here,
right off the bat, and so we can all get
on the same page with insulation. But as a result
of the way that California was settled, essentially and even
throughout the big building boom of post World War II,
(08:52):
The vast majority of Southern California homes specifically severely severely
under insulator. Over two thirds of southern californ Ffornia homes
current were built before nineteen seventy five, when the state
had how many energy efficiency standards, how many zero zero
(09:13):
energy efficiency standards? Before nineteen seventy five, pre nineteen seventy
eight homes, by the way, in terms of building code
in California were not required to have insulation in the
exterior walls, and very little anywhere else pre nineteen seventy
two homes in southern California, it's almost a guarantee unless
(09:37):
it was a custom build by a forward thinking owner.
No insulation in exterior walls in pre nineteen seventy two homes.
If you live in a home that was built before
nineteen seventy two right now, and you have insulation in
your outside walls, your exterior walls, somebody, you or the
(10:00):
previous owner put that insulation in there. The builder did not.
And that is essentially, you know, part of that problem,
because people are like, you know what, we don't have
snow piling up against the house out here. We don't
have blizzards in southern California. It's a temperate climate, warm
and sunny and temperate, and we don't need insulation out here. Absolutely,
(10:25):
one hundred percent wrong. But that was the mindset until
we started creeping into the nineteen eighties and nineteen nineties
and figuring out what the point of insulation is. Okay,
there is the groundwork laid. When we come back from break,
we'll talk about what exactly insulation is, by the numbers,
(10:47):
and what does it really do, and where do you
need it most? All of this and so much more.
Your Home with Dean Sharp the house Whisper.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KO six forty.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
We're talking insulation today. We're also going to be going
to the phones in a bit. So if you're interested
in asking me a question, anything about your home, whatever
the topic may be, the number to reach me eight
three three two. Ask Dean eight three three the numeral two.
Ask Dean eight three to three two. Ask Dean. Not
(11:23):
a lot of calls on the board this morning. I'll
be honest with you. Believe me, Hey, if I take
zero calls today, I will still have way more insulation
talk left over than I can actually get to on
the air. But I'm just saying, would love to go
to the phones as well. Every once in a while
we just run across the day where everybody's relaxed and
listening and nobody has any pertinent, heavy burdened questions. That's
(11:49):
totally fine, totally fine with me. We get our share
of calls. I usually have to turn people down, but
today we've got some room on the board. Just being
transparent with you. Eight three three two Ask Dean A
three three the number two? Ask Dan? All Right, insulation.
Insulation is a numbers game, it really is. Let's talk
(12:12):
about your house. Leaky houses. Okay, this is why insulation
is important. Leaky house is meaning houses that leak energy,
that don't hold energy. And I really do want you
to think of your home in terms of like a boat,
in terms of something that is watertight. For whatever reason,
I've noticed down through the years that metaphor that analogy
(12:35):
works well in people's mind when it comes to understanding
how to make a home energy efficient. Okay, so a
leaky house requires about thirty kilowatt hours of energy per
every ten square feet per year. Okay, thirty kilowot hours
of energy per every ten square feet per year to
(12:57):
remain at a comfortable temperature when the temperature rises up
in the summer and drops low in the winter. Thirty
killowat hours of energy per square feet a ten square
feet per year a modern home, a contemporary home with
insulation between the walls and the floor, dual glazed windows,
(13:20):
and fewer drafts reduces that energy needed from thirty kilowat
hours to fifteen killowot hours per every ten square feet
per year. That is a fifty percent reduction in the
energy spent to keep a home comfortable. And there you
have it, right. There is the need and the use
(13:45):
of insulation. But it doesn't have to stop there, because
the holy grail of energy efficiency is what we call
a passive home. A passive house. Okay. Passive simply refers
to the fact that this house is so insulated that
you don't actually have to add much to it or
take much away in order to keep it comfortable all right.
(14:06):
In other words, as opposed to being superactive, which is
what running your furnace in your air conditioner is. That's
active energy input. A passive home takes the energy that
it's got and holds on to it so well that
you don't have to do much. You just give it
a nudge here and there a little bit. Passive houses
are thoroughly insulated and air sealed, and they require here
(14:29):
we go, remember the leaky house thirty kilo what hours,
a modern insulated house fifteen kilowat hours a passive house
one point five kilowatt hours per every ten square feet
per year. That is a ninety five percent reduction in
energy costs over a typical old, leaky house. That amounts
(14:53):
to about if you were wondering current levels, it's about
eighty thousand dollars of savings over the course of a
thirty year mortgage. That's like, you know, an ivy League
college tuition or maybe a community college tuition. I don't
know where college tuitions are. That's a lot of money.
Eighty thousand dollars in savings over the course of the mortgage. Okay,
(15:18):
so there you go. That's insulation and its value to you.
One of the most important questions, by the way, but
least asked questions when buying a new home. When people
ask me, hey, Dean, I'm about to go in, I'm
going to we're going to check out this house, we
think we like it. What should we be asking the
home inspector? What should we be asking about this house?
(15:40):
People get caught up in all sorts of superficial things,
carpeting and this and that and the other thing. One
of the most important questions when buying a new home
is how well insulated is it. You want to hear
on that home inspection report that you've got thick R
thirty insulation up there in the attic. If it's a
subfloor house, a raised foundation floor, you want to know
(16:02):
that there's R nineteen underneath your feet, and you want
to know that there's at least our thirteen insulation in
the walls. Okay, that's, by the way, is how insulation
is rated in our value. Now why is that? Why
is that here? It is? Insulation is not about keeping
(16:23):
your house warm, although that's what it does. Insulation is
about preventing the transfer of energy from one place to
another place. Okay, there is insulation on the outside of
an electrical wire. That's the rubberized coating on the outside
of the wire. That's insulation. And when it comes to
(16:44):
an electrical wire has nothing to do with hot or cold. Right,
there's energy running through that wire. It's a conductor of energy.
There's energy running through that wire, and we want the
energy to stay in the wire. We want you to
be able to touch the wire or of that wire
to touch other things and not have that energy run
into that thing. Okay, I don't want the energy running
(17:04):
into you. I want it running into the outlet where
it belongs. Therefore, we wrap that wire in insulation. Why
Because insulation is about preventing the transfer of energy from
one place to another. This is the great lesson the
learning curve for homes all across the country, but especially
(17:24):
here in Southern California. Southern California homes need insulation as
much as any home anywhere on planet Earth. They're all
the same, they all have the exact same need for insulation.
Why Because there are environments outside that we don't want inside.
(17:48):
So when it's very very cold outside, we want the
warmth that we have trapped inside the house to remain
and we don't want the cold getting in, and we
don't want the warmth getting out. And the verse is
true during the summer, when it's very very warm outside
and we've cooled the inside of the house. We don't
want that cold air getting out, and we don't want
(18:10):
the heat finding its way in. Insulation is the key
that prevents the transfer of energy from one place to another.
There you go, period. That's why the like a thermal mug. Right,
somebody said, someone here on the station has said this before,
makes this joke, like thermal thermal mugs. They're magical. How
(18:30):
do they know? How do they know to keep my
soup warm? And how do they know to keep my
ice cold beverage cold? It's magic. No, it's insulation. That's
what it is. All right. Let's talk our value, because
that's how it's measured. When we return your Home with
Dean Sharp the house whisper.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM sixty.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Our value is the way that we measure how productive
insulation is, and insulation products are measured by our value.
Because insulation is all about resisting the transfer of energy
from one side or one plane to another. Therefore are
(19:24):
ours for resistance, the resistance value when it comes to
our value, the higher the number, the more it resists,
the better the insulation. Okay, now this is just the
opposite on windows, and I'll get to that in a bit,
But for most of the house, pretty much everything in
the house except windows is measured in terms of our value.
(19:48):
Windows get a little confusing because we measure them just
the opposite, but pretty much everything other than windows our value.
Southern California Zone requires it's for your home R thirty
in the attic, R thirteen in the walls, and are
(20:09):
nineteen in the subfloor. That is, if you're not on
a slab. Okay, if you're sitting on a slab, which
so many houses do, then there is no insulation value
for what's underneath you. But if you have a raised
foundation house, in other words, if you have a crawl
space in your house, then R nineteen is the subfloor
rating for the insure in the little insulation. There By
(20:33):
the way, Energy star rated windows are about R three.
What that's like, tiny, Yes, yes it is, which takes
us back to the beginning of the show when I
told you if you're going to spend money on your house,
and you have a limited amount, and who doesn't to spend,
(20:57):
then you know the cost of replace placement windows versus
the cost of adding insulation. Even if you replace your
window I'm not saying there's anything wrong with replacement windows.
There's a ton of reasons to replace windows, but just
no energy star rated windows. It's not unusual for them
to come in at about R three, R four or so.
(21:20):
I will tell you when we talk windows that I'm
gonna share with you what the best energy rated window
on the market these days, and just how low that
our value is by comparison. So that's the idea. So
what are we resisting? Okay, what is this resistance all about?
(21:41):
There are four ways that energy wants to get into
or leave your home. Okay, four ways. They sound a
bit scientific because they are. And when we come back,
we're going to break it all down. But I'm going
to give you the preview right now. The four energy
the four ways that energy wants to get into your
(22:02):
home and wants to leave your home are by conduction
and by air infiltration, convection and radiation. Now, no, we're
not going to get all science geeky about this. What
I am going to do is I'm going to put
it into a context that you're familiar with, which is clothing.
(22:22):
You know, actually about all of these things, conduction, air infiltration, convection,
and radiation, because guess what if you are not sitting
naked somewhere, which you know. If you are, hey, you
be you. But if you're not sitting naked somewhere listening
right now, then you engaged in the art of insulation.
(22:45):
This morning you do every single day, every time you
make a decision, every time you look outside and say,
what's the weather, like I wonder what I should put on?
How thick the coat that you choose, and how well
buttoned up you keep it, whether you wear a hat
today or not, and so on. When it comes to clothing,
you understand the insulation game. So I'm gonna flip the
(23:08):
house insulation game in terms of clothing for you. So
the understand these four areas that you should be looking
for with your home, and we will do it all
when we return. You're listening to Dean Sharp the House
Whisper on KFI. This has been Home with Dean Sharp
the House Whisper. Tune into the live broadcast on KFI
(23:29):
AM six forty every Saturday morning from six to eight
Pacific time and every Sunday morning from nine to noon
Pacific time, or anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app
KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp, the
House Whisper on demand on the iHeart Radio app. Hey,
welcome to home where. Every week we help you better
understand that place where you live. I am Dean Sharp,
the house Whisperer, custom home builder, custom home designer. Most importantly, today,
(00:23):
your guide to turning your ordinary house into something truly extraordinary.
We're talking well, it's not the sexiest topic in the world,
but it is really really important. We're talking insulation today. Insulation.
We're going to try and take as deep a dive
as possible into this subject so that you stop wasting
(00:45):
money on energy and get your home as tightly put
together as possible. And whether you are building a new home,
whether you've got a very very very old home, and
you want to know how do I am prove it's
insulating value. Well, don't go anywhere, because we're gonna cover
it all and we're gonna take some calls as we do.
(01:08):
The number to reach me, by the way, the phone
lines are open. Producer Matt standing by uh. The number
to reach me eight three three two. Ask Dean A
three three The numeral two deep. Ask Dean A three
three two, ask Dean. Phone lines are open now. There
is room for you when it comes to calls. By
the way, anything you want to talk about. I'm talking insulation,
(01:31):
but you can talk to me about whatever is on
your mind about your home today. And if we do
it all right, we're gonna bring some light into your morning.
We're gonna make you feel glad that you were here.
We're getting a little bit of a late start. That Jesus,
he can just talk and talk, doesn't he. No, No,
I'm looking up. No, just all right. It was just
(01:51):
a joke. The team is here for you. Elmer is
on the board. Good morning, Elmer, good morning, Good morning. Producer. Matt,
like I said, is standing by, away from the microphone,
but ready to take your calls. Eileen Gonzalez at the
news desk, Good morning, boss, Good morning.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
How's it going.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I'm good, I'm good. It is Did you know this?
It's the first day of autumn today. I did.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
I saw that the equinox today.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Yeah, it's got me feeling great. This is my favorite
time of year, my favorite season, my all time favorite no,
no question whatsoever. I am born and raised Southern California boy,
and I love autumn. I should have I should have
been born and raised somewhere, you know, in the in
New England. Probably probably it might take.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
A while for it to really kick in and get cooler.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
But yeah, yeah, it's gonna take a while, is it.
But I can already tell and I don't think I'm
making it up. And some people say I'm crazy every year,
I don't think I'm making it up. I can tell
already that the quality of the air has changed. I
mean there's a there's a shift in it. It's a
little dryer, and it's a little I don't know, it's
a little something. Plus the sycamore tree in my yard
have all dropped their leaves, so they're like, yeah, we're done,
(03:03):
we're done. We feel like you. We're done, We're ready
to go.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
And the coconut oil. That's how I can tell.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
The coconut oil. What is gone at oil?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
When it's when it's wiley, that's when it's it's warm.
And then when jeels that's cooler, weather's on the way.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
There you go, all right, well, that makes perfect sense,
perfect sense. The litmus test. Hey, sitting across the table
from me, there, she is my better half, my design partner,
my best buddy Tina is here. Oh I was right
out of the blue.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
I had to clear my throat. Welcome home.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Good morning, Bud, good morning, how you doing good? All right?
So the three quick reasons why it's an important day,
well four actually one first day of autumn. I already
covered that. Two last day of the work week for
you and me.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Well day of the work week for Sunday. But you know,
we work pretty much seven days a week.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
But it's still but this is it, this is it,
and then we get a little break, We get a
little break.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
That's true.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Okay, it's also your mom's birthday, birthday, won't you send
some birthday love to your mom. We're gonna have lunch
with her.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yep, she's gonna get lunch with the family. Favorite thing.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
There you go, Happy birthday, mom. And also the first
day after we finished our new water feature and built
the little bridge yesterday, oh my gosh, for which I
am not at all sore muscularly speaking. But there it
is looking good.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
It looks great.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Maybe you'll piece together a little video and pop it up,
give everybody a little preview.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
I can throw up that I did yesterday, even though.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
It's not painted or anything like that, but fun. It's
something to look at some all right, everybody, let's have
a little news and when we come back, we'll dive
right in insulation. I'm so glad you have joined us
this this morning. You're Home with Dean Sharp the house Whisper.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Hey, whether you are living in a condo right now
or a cottage or a castle, it's the place you
call home. I am here to help you take it
to the next level, especially today. Oh yeah, oh yeah,
because it's a sexy topic. Today, it's so sexy. Because
so you might want to just dim the lights, maybe
(05:31):
light a candle right now, pour a glass of wine
for you and your significant other, put on a little
mood music, you know, a little boum chicken boum boum.
Because we're talking insulation. Yeah, I know, insulation the least
sexy topic. Maybe there is there a less sexy topic
(05:54):
than insulation. Probably not, But when it comes to practical
import it's hard to beat this one, especially when it
comes to the dollars that you are spending to improve
your home. Okay, So let's let's talk about one thing. First,
phone lines are open. The number to reach me about
(06:15):
anything this morning. We're going to be going to the
phones in just a bit eight three three two Ask
dean A three three the numeral two ask dean. Okay. Insulation.
The reason that this is such an important topic is
that nothing saves you more money for less money spent. Really,
(06:37):
it's got to be at the top of the list,
if not very very close to the top of the list.
The average cost of buying yourself a new HVAC system
because you want to keep the house cooler or warmer
than the system that you've got going right now, you know,
I mean these days, that ranges around, on average about
fifteen dollars. The average cost of window replacement or an
(07:01):
average size home about twelve thousand dollars. The average cost
of attic insulation for the average size home about two
thousand dollars. That is a fraction of the other two.
And the fact of the matter is the other two
don't actually in a direct way save you the kind
of energy that insulation does. We'll talk more about that
(07:23):
as we get into those specifics. The vast majority of
southern California homes are severely under insulated. That's not necessarily
the case across the country. It just has a lot
to do with how southern California developed. You know, we
were East Coast transplants. The whole moved to California ever
(07:44):
since the eighteen forties in the gold Rush, East coast transplants,
and so the misunderstanding of insulation down through the decades
was carried with us from the East Coast. And what
do I mean by misunderstanding. I mean this that insulation
is about keeping your housewarm. So and I ask homeowners
(08:09):
this all the time. I say, you know, what does
insulation do? And if the answer I get back is
it keeps the housewarm, I look at them and I smile,
and I say, you are part of the problem in
a nice way, in a nice way, because insulation does,
of course keep the housewarm, but that's only half of
what it does, and that's not essentially what insulation is.
(08:32):
So we're going to cut right to the bone here,
right off the bat, and so we can all get
on the same page with insulation. But as a result
of the way that California was settled, essentially and even
throughout the big building boom of post World War II,
(08:52):
The vast majority of Southern California homes specifically severely severely
under insulator. Over two thirds of southern californ Ffornia homes
current were built before nineteen seventy five, when the state
had how many energy efficiency standards, how many zero zero
(09:13):
energy efficiency standards? Before nineteen seventy five, pre nineteen seventy
eight homes, by the way, in terms of building code
in California were not required to have insulation in the
exterior walls, and very little anywhere else pre nineteen seventy
two homes in southern California, it's almost a guarantee unless
(09:37):
it was a custom build by a forward thinking owner.
No insulation in exterior walls in pre nineteen seventy two homes.
If you live in a home that was built before
nineteen seventy two right now, and you have insulation in
your outside walls, your exterior walls, somebody, you or the
(10:00):
previous owner put that insulation in there. The builder did not.
And that is essentially, you know, part of that problem,
because people are like, you know what, we don't have
snow piling up against the house out here. We don't
have blizzards in southern California. It's a temperate climate, warm
and sunny and temperate, and we don't need insulation out here. Absolutely,
(10:25):
one hundred percent wrong. But that was the mindset until
we started creeping into the nineteen eighties and nineteen nineties
and figuring out what the point of insulation is. Okay,
there is the groundwork laid. When we come back from break,
we'll talk about what exactly insulation is, by the numbers,
(10:47):
and what does it really do, and where do you
need it most? All of this and so much more.
Your Home with Dean Sharp the house Whisper.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KO six forty.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
We're talking insulation today. We're also going to be going
to the phones in a bit. So if you're interested
in asking me a question, anything about your home, whatever
the topic may be, the number to reach me eight
three three two. Ask Dean eight three three the numeral two.
Ask Dean eight three to three two. Ask Dean. Not
(11:23):
a lot of calls on the board this morning. I'll
be honest with you. Believe me, Hey, if I take
zero calls today, I will still have way more insulation
talk left over than I can actually get to on
the air. But I'm just saying, would love to go
to the phones as well. Every once in a while
we just run across the day where everybody's relaxed and
listening and nobody has any pertinent, heavy burdened questions. That's
(11:49):
totally fine, totally fine with me. We get our share
of calls. I usually have to turn people down, but
today we've got some room on the board. Just being
transparent with you. Eight three three two Ask Dean A
three three the number two? Ask Dan? All Right, insulation.
Insulation is a numbers game, it really is. Let's talk
(12:12):
about your house. Leaky houses. Okay, this is why insulation
is important. Leaky house is meaning houses that leak energy,
that don't hold energy. And I really do want you
to think of your home in terms of like a boat,
in terms of something that is watertight. For whatever reason,
I've noticed down through the years that metaphor that analogy
(12:35):
works well in people's mind when it comes to understanding
how to make a home energy efficient. Okay, so a
leaky house requires about thirty kilowatt hours of energy per
every ten square feet per year. Okay, thirty kilowot hours
of energy per every ten square feet per year to
(12:57):
remain at a comfortable temperature when the temperature rises up
in the summer and drops low in the winter. Thirty
killowat hours of energy per square feet a ten square
feet per year a modern home, a contemporary home with
insulation between the walls and the floor, dual glazed windows,
(13:20):
and fewer drafts reduces that energy needed from thirty kilowat
hours to fifteen killowot hours per every ten square feet
per year. That is a fifty percent reduction in the
energy spent to keep a home comfortable. And there you
have it, right. There is the need and the use
(13:45):
of insulation. But it doesn't have to stop there, because
the holy grail of energy efficiency is what we call
a passive home. A passive house. Okay. Passive simply refers
to the fact that this house is so insulated that
you don't actually have to add much to it or
take much away in order to keep it comfortable all right.
(14:06):
In other words, as opposed to being superactive, which is
what running your furnace in your air conditioner is. That's
active energy input. A passive home takes the energy that
it's got and holds on to it so well that
you don't have to do much. You just give it
a nudge here and there a little bit. Passive houses
are thoroughly insulated and air sealed, and they require here
(14:29):
we go, remember the leaky house thirty kilo what hours,
a modern insulated house fifteen kilowat hours a passive house
one point five kilowatt hours per every ten square feet
per year. That is a ninety five percent reduction in
energy costs over a typical old, leaky house. That amounts
(14:53):
to about if you were wondering current levels, it's about
eighty thousand dollars of savings over the course of a
thirty year mortgage. That's like, you know, an ivy League
college tuition or maybe a community college tuition. I don't
know where college tuitions are. That's a lot of money.
Eighty thousand dollars in savings over the course of the mortgage. Okay,
(15:18):
so there you go. That's insulation and its value to you.
One of the most important questions, by the way, but
least asked questions when buying a new home. When people
ask me, hey, Dean, I'm about to go in, I'm
going to we're going to check out this house, we
think we like it. What should we be asking the
home inspector? What should we be asking about this house?
(15:40):
People get caught up in all sorts of superficial things,
carpeting and this and that and the other thing. One
of the most important questions when buying a new home
is how well insulated is it. You want to hear
on that home inspection report that you've got thick R
thirty insulation up there in the attic. If it's a
subfloor house, a raised foundation floor, you want to know
(16:02):
that there's R nineteen underneath your feet, and you want
to know that there's at least our thirteen insulation in
the walls. Okay, that's, by the way, is how insulation
is rated in our value. Now why is that? Why
is that here? It is? Insulation is not about keeping
(16:23):
your house warm, although that's what it does. Insulation is
about preventing the transfer of energy from one place to
another place. Okay, there is insulation on the outside of
an electrical wire. That's the rubberized coating on the outside
of the wire. That's insulation. And when it comes to
(16:44):
an electrical wire has nothing to do with hot or cold. Right,
there's energy running through that wire. It's a conductor of energy.
There's energy running through that wire, and we want the
energy to stay in the wire. We want you to
be able to touch the wire or of that wire
to touch other things and not have that energy run
into that thing. Okay, I don't want the energy running
(17:04):
into you. I want it running into the outlet where
it belongs. Therefore, we wrap that wire in insulation. Why
Because insulation is about preventing the transfer of energy from
one place to another. This is the great lesson the
learning curve for homes all across the country, but especially
(17:24):
here in Southern California. Southern California homes need insulation as
much as any home anywhere on planet Earth. They're all
the same, they all have the exact same need for insulation.
Why Because there are environments outside that we don't want inside.
(17:48):
So when it's very very cold outside, we want the
warmth that we have trapped inside the house to remain
and we don't want the cold getting in, and we
don't want the warmth getting out. And the verse is
true during the summer, when it's very very warm outside
and we've cooled the inside of the house. We don't
want that cold air getting out, and we don't want
(18:10):
the heat finding its way in. Insulation is the key
that prevents the transfer of energy from one place to another.
There you go, period. That's why the like a thermal mug. Right,
somebody said, someone here on the station has said this before,
makes this joke, like thermal thermal mugs. They're magical. How
(18:30):
do they know? How do they know to keep my
soup warm? And how do they know to keep my
ice cold beverage cold? It's magic. No, it's insulation. That's
what it is. All right. Let's talk our value, because
that's how it's measured. When we return your Home with
Dean Sharp the house whisper.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM sixty.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Our value is the way that we measure how productive
insulation is, and insulation products are measured by our value.
Because insulation is all about resisting the transfer of energy
from one side or one plane to another. Therefore are
(19:24):
ours for resistance, the resistance value when it comes to
our value, the higher the number, the more it resists,
the better the insulation. Okay, now this is just the
opposite on windows, and I'll get to that in a bit,
But for most of the house, pretty much everything in
the house except windows is measured in terms of our value.
(19:48):
Windows get a little confusing because we measure them just
the opposite, but pretty much everything other than windows our value.
Southern California Zone requires it's for your home R thirty
in the attic, R thirteen in the walls, and are
(20:09):
nineteen in the subfloor. That is, if you're not on
a slab. Okay, if you're sitting on a slab, which
so many houses do, then there is no insulation value
for what's underneath you. But if you have a raised
foundation house, in other words, if you have a crawl
space in your house, then R nineteen is the subfloor
rating for the insure in the little insulation. There By
(20:33):
the way, Energy star rated windows are about R three.
What that's like, tiny, Yes, yes it is, which takes
us back to the beginning of the show when I
told you if you're going to spend money on your house,
and you have a limited amount, and who doesn't to spend,
(20:57):
then you know the cost of replace placement windows versus
the cost of adding insulation. Even if you replace your
window I'm not saying there's anything wrong with replacement windows.
There's a ton of reasons to replace windows, but just
no energy star rated windows. It's not unusual for them
to come in at about R three, R four or so.
(21:20):
I will tell you when we talk windows that I'm
gonna share with you what the best energy rated window
on the market these days, and just how low that
our value is by comparison. So that's the idea. So
what are we resisting? Okay, what is this resistance all about?
(21:41):
There are four ways that energy wants to get into
or leave your home. Okay, four ways. They sound a
bit scientific because they are. And when we come back,
we're going to break it all down. But I'm going
to give you the preview right now. The four energy
the four ways that energy wants to get into your
(22:02):
home and wants to leave your home are by conduction
and by air infiltration, convection and radiation. Now, no, we're
not going to get all science geeky about this. What
I am going to do is I'm going to put
it into a context that you're familiar with, which is clothing.
(22:22):
You know, actually about all of these things, conduction, air infiltration, convection,
and radiation, because guess what if you are not sitting
naked somewhere, which you know. If you are, hey, you
be you. But if you're not sitting naked somewhere listening
right now, then you engaged in the art of insulation.
(22:45):
This morning you do every single day, every time you
make a decision, every time you look outside and say,
what's the weather, like I wonder what I should put on?
How thick the coat that you choose, and how well
buttoned up you keep it, whether you wear a hat
today or not, and so on. When it comes to clothing,
you understand the insulation game. So I'm gonna flip the
(23:08):
house insulation game in terms of clothing for you. So
the understand these four areas that you should be looking
for with your home, and we will do it all
when we return. You're listening to Dean Sharp the House
Whisper on KFI. This has been Home with Dean Sharp
the House Whisper. Tune into the live broadcast on KFI
(23:29):
AM six forty every Saturday morning from six to eight
Pacific time and every Sunday morning from nine to noon
Pacific time, or anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app
Home with Dean Sharp News
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