Insulating a Mayor’s Attic November 22, 2009
So, the attic of my house on East Wolfe Street needed more insulation, which was becoming more obvious with the wintery weather. Besides making the house more comfortable, savings in fuel use (propane in my case) and the associated cost (in cash and carbon emissions) were motivation to take some time on Wednesday afternoon to blow more insulation into my attic.
I enlisted help from Benamin Meredith, who owns Building Knowledge Professional Inspection Services. He’s a local home energy expert who shares some good information as we increase the insulation from an R-19 to an R-30. Give him a call to see what you can do in your home to save money and energy! My friend MuAwia Da’mes, who works at Lowes and sits on the Harrisonburg Planning Commission, was also a big help in showing me how to rent the insulation blower (it’s free, just a deposit!) and find what I needed for the job. Add a couple hands from Cdub, and I had what I needed.
[...] in a while. I got through the rush with the last Sustainability Summit, the Turkey Drive, and insulating my house, so I’m seeing opportunity to get back into the gym more regularly. Before, I might have [...]
Kai,
It would be great to see a follow-up post with actual energy savings numbers vs. the cost of the additional insulation.
Josh-
I bought $208 worth of cellulose insulation (85% receycled material). I had a $50 gift certificate, so paid only $158. The blower machine required $250 deposit at Lowes, ALL of which I got back when I returned it – so it was free.
With all the other variables (weather, temperature, etc), and the fact that I myself don’t live there (I rent it out), it’ll be hard to give you a dependable, exact number. Also, as I’ll post in the next video, I also did some things to decrease leakage in my duct system, which should improve things.
I will say that immediately after the insulation installation (say that five times fast), the temp increased 3 degrees.