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The United States Department of Energy (USDOE) says adding insulation to your attic is one of the best ways to make your home comfortable year-round. Source: EERE Consumer Guide. Most homeowners are losing money on energy because they do not have enough insulation in their attic.
When I help people with their energy bill, insulation is one of the first items that need to be addressed.
If you were to go up in your roof and add or upgrade your attic insulation you would save money every year you live in that home! Yes, insulation is dirty and nasty; just wear a mask, pants, sweatshirt and hat. Bottom line, you need to add this insulation!! Even if you have a professional do the job, please do not forget to seal the attic with an attic stair cover!! Now, you might just be thinking about recouping the money you invested to buy the insulation. Here is the thing: Your energy savings will increase over time because utility rates go up and will continue to go up! Determine If You Have Enough Attic Insulation
To find out if you have enough attic insulation, measure the thickness of the insulation. If it is less than R-22 (7 inches of fiber glass or rock wool or 6 inches of cellulose), you could probably benefit by adding more. Most homes in the United States have a building code that ranges between R-22 and R-49 insulation in the attic. Most likely your insulation (if you have not replaced it) is between 25-50% less than current energy code requires. Find the R-Value you need by zip code.
Adding Insulation to the Attic
The USDOE says adding insulation to your attic is one of the best ways to make your home comfortable year-round. Source: EERE Consumer Guide. Adding insulation to the attic is easy and very not as expensive as you might think. Go to your local home improvement or hardware store and price it out.
Upgrading Your Attic Insulation
Upgrading your attic insulation Upgrading Attic Insulation is one great way to save on your energy bills year round. In this instance, you would take the old insulation out of your attic and replace it with insulation with a higher R-value that meets building energy codes. This is a little more costly and a longer term payback but if the insulation is really old, you could take it out of the attic and put in safer, greener insulation for improving the indoor air quality in your home. Here is some more great information on insulation, saving green and possibly even using green insulation too!
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