Improving Your Home’s Energy Efficiency Want an Energy-Efficient Home? Tighten up with Insulation! If you’re looking to stretch your hard-earned home improvement dollars a little farther, you can’t go wrong by investing in energy-efficient upgrades. Regardless of the age of your home, the right improvements can do wonders for cutting your energy costs. But what are the “right” improvements? We talked with some of our local contractors to get their advice on improving your home’s energy efficiency. And all our experts said the same thing: the best bang for your buck is tightening your home with high-quality insulation – particularly in the attic, where heat tends to accumulate during the warm months. Why is the attic such an issue? When it’s hot outside, heat builds up in your attic (this stored heat is commonly called “radiant heat”) and eventually travels back down into your home. In fact, radiant heat from the attic accounts for more than 90% of the heat gain in your living space. That extra heat forces your air conditioning system to work extra hard to keep things cool, meaning higher electric bills. Without proper protection, your home can’t keep hot air out and cool air in – a problem that can increase your energy costs by more than 30%. When you look at those figures, it’s easy to see why contractors focus on insulation when they’re looking to improve a home’s energy efficiency. Choosing the Right Insulation: Know Your Options So, now that you know why insulation is important, it’s time to figure out which option will be the best fit for your home – and your budget. Today’s insulation comes in a variety of different technologies. To help you make an informed decision, we’ve compiled a list of three popular types of insulation on the residential market: fiberglass insulation, radiant barrier, and reflective insulation. Fiberglass Insulation What it is: Found in more than 90% of homes in the U.S., fiberglass is by far the most popular form of insulation on the market today. Fiberglass is made of a blend of materials such as sand and recycled glass, and it is fibrous and heat-resistant. This versatile insulator inhibits the natural flow of warm air into cooler spaces, which is why it is widely used in areas such as attics. There’s a downside, though: Fiberglass absorbs heat to the point of over-saturation, then releases it back in the opposite direction – so some of your attic’s heat eventually leaks back into your living space. Cost: The cost of installing fiberglass insulation can vary widely – anywhere from $0.50 to $2.25 a square foot – depending on factors like where you live and what brand of insulation you choose. One upside of choosing fiberglass: It’s a fairly easy DIY project. Many companies produce fiberglass in large rolls that lay out easily, so you can complete the project yourself for about $100 -$500. Return on Investment: Because the price of fiberglass insulation varies so much, your return on investment will vary, too – but on average homeowners can recoup their costs in about 5 years through lowered energy bills. Radiant Barrier What it is: A radiant barrier is a thin layer of reflective film that blocks the heat absorbed by your roof. A radiant barrier is installed on the underside of your roof, where it reflects heat back out of your attic, preventing it from traveling down into your home’s living spaces. A radiant barrier can enhance the efficiency of your existing insulation and cut your air conditioning costs by 10-15%. An independent test at the University of Kansas found that HeatBloc Ultra – one popular brand of radiant barrier — improved the efficiency of traditional mass fiberglass insulation by 87% to 98%. Cost: Radiant barriers can range widely, averaging $900 – $2000 depending on which brand you choose and the size of your roof. For a rough estimate, multiply the square footage of your home by 1.5, then multiply that by $0.55. Return on Investment: Radiant barriers can be cost-effective in hot climates, in new construction, and in an already energy-efficient home, with some homeowners realizing a payback through energy savings in less than 10 years. That said, a radiant barrier might not be a wise investment if your home is already well-insulated, or if you live in a cool climate (the energy you save during warmer months may not be worth the cost of installation). Reflective Insulation What it is: In a nutshell, reflective insulation is a traditional insulation (like fiberglass) covered by a low-emittance foil surface (like radiant barrier). Reflective insulation is installed between your attic’s roof rafters to reflect up to 97% of radiant heat away from your home. And it has a cool backstory, too: The technology was originally developed by NASA as a barrier for spacecraft and spacesuits. The idea was to develop a material that would reflect the heat away from astronauts by day and retain internal warmth at night. Cost: Cost: Reflective insulation – such as LOW-E Reflective Insulation – is fairly easy to install. It’s compact yet strong enough to resist punctures, and it easily shapes around angles and corners. At a cost of around $.40 per square foot, going the do-it-yourself route can make this a pretty cost-effective option for homeowners on a budget. But it may not be a project for inexperienced DIY-ers: Because the efficacy of reflective insulation depends on accurate installation, you may want to consider hiring a professional installer. Return on Investment: Although the performance of reflective insulation can vary depending on factors such as the size of your home and the amount and quality of your existing insulation, this space-age improvement seems to be a wise investment. Field tests by the Florida Solar Energy Center have shown that reflective insulation can reduce your cooling bill by 2% to 17%, with a payback period of 6-7 years. Which Insulation is Right for You? Your insulation choice will depend mostly on the style and size of your home; your geographical location and climate; the quality of your existing insulation; and, of course, your budget. If your house is relatively new and well-insulated, reflective insulation might give you just the right energy-efficient boost. But if you’re on a budget and need to start from scratch, traditional fiberglass might be the best way to start.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 14:01:17 +0000
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