Student here with a question about basement insulation. The course says:
“A finished basement should be insulated around the perimeter of the basement’s exterior walls. And the basement ceiling should not be insulated. There may be insulation in between the finished basement space (the conditioned space) and the floor above.”
I take this to mean the exterior and/or floor of finished basement should be insulated, but NOT the ceiling. Is that correct? If there is insulation between the finished basement and the floor above, how would you go about writing that in the report?
@lkage made a good point and another situation to consider is when the home owner finishes the basement after construction. Sometimes builders insulate the walls of an unfinished basement or the over head floor system. Think building envelope and what should be insulated around conditioned spaces.
We do report lack of insulation. Since you are not doing an energy audit, you can say something like this. “Building envelope was not adequately insulated. No basement insulation observed. Recommend adding insulation as needed by a qualified insulation contractor for comfort and energy efficiency.”
