Adding Insulation
Late last year my parents had an energy expert come out and perform a home energy audit. He was able to recommend some additional steps (additional to our normal winter preparations). Without even having had an audit can you guess what his #1 idea was?Add insulation to the attic! Who could have guessed? Still knowing how much and what kind did help us out. The guy also found some big air gaps (i.e. where heat escapes) right where the ceiling meets our large fireplace, and told us this can easily be filled with foam.
The nice part of having a local expert come out is that he can suggest some local insulation installers to get quotes from. We did this and thought about what to do for a few months.
Then last week we had the insulation guys come out and do their thing. We opted for 12" of blown in cellulose--treated, recycled news print. Energy prices have been rising fast in our neck of the woods, up 40% over the last two years, and I expect this to continue although perhaps not quite so fast. If we can cut out winter heating bills by 20%, this will pay for itself in just a few years.
posted by Daniel @ 9:56 AM
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