Insulate Your Attic to Save Money this Year

Spring's here… well at least on its way, and there's one part of the house that's often overlooked when people are getting their homes ready for the heat of summer or the cold of winter: the attic. Proper insulation will help keep the heat out and the cool in during those dog days of summer. On the flip side, heat rises of course, and for this reason having a good bit of insulation in the attic of your home can save your furnace a lot of work, and you a lot of money, during the winter months also. Also, particularly in older buildings, this measure will help keep upstairs bedrooms cooler or warmer at night, depending on the season.

It's true that a lot of recently built or remodeled houses already have insulated attics, but living in one of these homes doesn't mean you're off the hook. The insulation that was sprayed into your attic could be a variety of different materials, some of which work better than others, and over time, the insulation in your attic can settle, and begin to lose its insulating properties. Also, many newer materials provide a great deal of flame resistance, which is something many of the older insulating materials did not do. This all means that even if you have insulation in your attic, it might be time for an upgrade, and that this upgrade could save you a lot of money on your energy bill, and can make your house more resistant to house fires. In the long run, it's greener, cheaper, and safer to have the insulation in your attic done or redone sooner rather than later.

Another point to consider is that although fuel and energy prices are relatively low compared to the huge spike we saw in recent years, the prices won't always be this low, and you can bet that as the cost of electricity and cooling/heating a home goes up, the cost of upgrading a home's insulation will also go up. The smart thing would be to insulate your attic now while it's cheapest, and in time to start saving money on your cooling bill this summer.

Enjoy the beautiful weather!

Mike Blank, CGR CAPS
www.MBCremodeling.com