Living in the Northwest, we don’t have to worry too much about the hot, humid days experienced in the South. But, we do get our share of hot summer days. Some of these days can actually be quite miserable since most of us in the Northwest don’t have air conditioning. To help us get through these hot days you can save a bunch on cooling costs by adding attic insulation.
Adding additional attic insulation can lower cooling costs by as much as $600 per year. Heating costs will also be lowered with more insulation in your attic.
A Properly Insulated Attic Using Blown-in Cellulose Insulation
How Do You Know if You Need More Attic Insulation?
If you have noticed an increase in year-over-year cooling costs in your home, you may likely need more insulation.
You can also do a physical check of the insulation level across your attic floor. If you see that the existing insulation comes up just to the tops of the joists, your home would benefit from additional attic insulation. If you don’t see any of the joists, then you have adequate insulation and would not quickly recoup the cost of adding more insulation.
If you believe you do not have enough attic insulation, you will be well served to add more. Here are just a few of the top benefits that come by adding attic insulation to your home.
Adding Attic Insulation Leads to Cost Savings
The first benefit that comes with adding attic insulation is cost savings. How? Well, attic insulation leads to the preservation of cool air inside your home. This can be nothing short of a blessing when the weather gets hot, considering how your monthly electricity bill will be substantially reduced.
One of the major monthly expenses of every home is the payment of the power bills. When the temperatures get a bit too extreme—too hot or too cold—it is natural for the electricity bills to hike as well. This is where the benefit of adding attic insulation comes into the picture. Top quality attic insulation will stabilize the temperature of your home, preventing the escape of warm or cool air. This means that that your home will not be too hot in summers or too cold in winters, thus reducing the need of your HVAC system for excessive power consumption.
Upgrading your attic insulation can lead to one of the biggest return on investment opportunities. Summer energy bills can decrease by as much as 15 to 25 percent (depending on your climate and existing levels of insulation) with the proper amount of attic insulation. On top of the savings, you may also qualify for a tax credit or rebate by adding attic insulation.
Homes lose the greatest amount of heat through the roof, making additional attic insulation an investment in energy savings as well as home value. The average cost to insulate an attic with fiberglass insulation runs about $1,300, but the project increases resale value as much as $1,400, which means that you could recoup as much as 105 percent of the project’s cost when it’s time to sell.
Environmental Protection
We all want to do our part to protect the environment. The fulfillment of this duty is another reason why you should consider adding attic insulation. Attic insulation is one of the most cost effective energy saving projects that you can invest in. By saving energy, you will not only be doing your bank accounts a favor but benefit Mother Earth, on the whole, as well. Remember: conservation of earth is something that we owe to our children.
Damage Prevention
If your attic is not properly insulated, the rising heat will melt the accumulated snow on the roof. This, in turn, will result into ice dams. Such a scenario will persistently cause damage to the roof of your home, and the repairs can be quite expensive. Adding attic insulation will prevent such a scenario from happening, given how it will prevent heat from rising up and causing the ice dams.
When you take it all into perspective, you have to say that there are numerous reasons for homeowners in the Northwest to consider adding attic insulation. Proper insulation will ensure that you do not have to deal with too many headaches down the road.
You Can Get More Out Of Your Attic Space
Do you know what prevents a majority of homeowners from using their attic spaces like an extra room? Well, it is the fact that attic spaces become unbearable in times of extreme temperatures. This is the reason why you see a lot of home owners using their attic spaces merely as an additional storage space. As has already been discussed, adding attic insulation will make the conditions of your attic more than bearable, thus resulting into a scenario where you will be able to use your attic space for a lot more than mere storage.
If I Choose to Add More Attic Insulation, Which Type is Best?
Adding additional insulation depends mainly on the type currently in your home. The two most common attic insulation types in Northwest homes are batts and blown-in insulation.
Most attics are insulated with fiberglass batts. Fiberglass is made up of thin fibers of glass that trap air. Fiberglass batts (sometimes known as
Other homes are insulated with blown-in loose cellulose insulation. Cellulose is recycled newsprint treated with a fire retardant. Blown-in insulation works best to fill
Let the Experts at Crawl Pros Meet Your Attic Insulation Needs
Crawl Pros has solved the attic needs of hundreds of satisfied customers in the greater Seattle, Portland and Spokane areas.
We are experts in all insulation types and can help with financing and rebates.
Puget Sound Energy customers can receive rebates in the following amounts on insulation upgrades. Contact Crawl Pros to see if you may qualify for the below incentives:
- Floor Insulation (R-11 to R-30): 50% of the cost, up to $200
- Attic Insulation (R-11 to R-49): 50% of the cost, up to $600
- Wall Insulation (R-0 to R-13): 50% of the cost, up to $400
- Duct Insulation & Sealing (R-0 to R-11): 50% of the cost, up to $400
- Whole House Air Sealing 50% of the cost, up to $350
Additional information: Snohomish County PUD weatherization rebates
Cascade Natural Gas Washington Conservation Incentive Program
We invite you to give us a call today to discuss your attic insulation needs. Call us toll free at 866-673-9626.