[Vacationers]

I am considering having attic insulation installed by the Solar Guys. Can anyone tell me if this is worth the cost? Does it reduce the heat and air conditioning bills enough to warrant the cost? Also does it allow for storage in the attic. Right now I am not using the attic for storage because of the heat.

[rjm1cc]

How many inches and what type (blown in or batts) do you have?
The insulation will probably go on the floor so it will not reduce the heat in the storage area. You will also need to put in flooring for the storage.
Do you have foil on the roof panels?
I would check the tempeture in the attic to the outside tempeture in the summer and see how much of a change do you have. It may not be a lot if you have good insulation now.
A fan maybe better at reducing the tempeture for storage but if you have air leaks it could pull air-condition air from the home into the attic.

[retiredguy123]

Adding insulation in the attic is not going to help to cool the attic space. And, if you are adding the insulation in the space above the garage, it will not reduce your heating and cooling costs. But, adding insulation to the existing insulation above the heated and cooled areas of the house, will help to reduce your heating and cooling costs.

[DangeloInspections]

Are you talking about adding more insulation, or adding a staple up Radiant barrier......they are two different things with two different answers and outcomes. I only ask because I believe they do the latter.

Frank

[Brawnwy123]

Originally Posted by Vacationers

I am considering having attic insulation installed by the Solar Guys. Can anyone tell me if this is worth the cost? Does it reduce the heat and air conditioning bills enough to warrant the cost? Also does it allow for storage in the attic. Right now I am not using the attic for storage because of the heat.

Suggest you talk to Bill at Attic Insulators, he is great and knowledgeable and nice to work with.
NOTE: He is Not a ripoff artist. He will help you out without robbing you!!

[Toymeister]

Bottom line it will not pay for itself. Do not accept folklore posted here as any sort of science. Use this calculator to see for yourself. Mobile Insulation Savings Calculator to determine savings by adding or upgrading home insulation. To use this calculator you will need your 'degree days'. You can Google that. It is readily available.

Edit to add: Reflective insulation, foil insulation, has a cooling savings of 3-4% of your cooling bill. That is not your electric bill. It will not pay for itself in your lifetime and your children's lifetime. Let me see if I can find find the studies that reflect that. Or simply Google it or search this forum.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Toymeister

Bottom line it will not pay for itself. Do not accept folklore posted here as any sort of science. Use this calculator to see for yourself. Mobile Insulation Savings Calculator to determine savings by adding or upgrading home insulation. To use this calculator you will need your 'degree days'. You can Google that. It is readily available.

Edit to add: Reflective insulation, foil insulation, has a cooling savings of 3-4% of your cooling bill. That is not your electric bill. It will not pay for itself in your lifetime and your children's lifetime. Let me see if I can find find the studies that reflect that. Or simply Google it or search this forum.

I agree. Save your money.

[Vacationers]

Thanks for the tips. I will check it out when I arrive in January.

[DangeloInspections]

You still did not answer the question.

Basically, sometimes but not always it does benefit adding additional insulation, but you do not give enough info to determine that.

We do NOT recommend aftermarket radiant barriers for many reasons. There are many threads here on the subject.

Frank

[villagetinker]

Call SECO or DUKE, and ask them, both have departments that help customers with these types of questions, but I tend to agree you will never recoup the cost.

[TheSolarGuys]

Originally Posted by Vacationers

I am considering having attic insulation installed by the Solar Guys. Can anyone tell me if this is worth the cost? Does it reduce the heat and air conditioning bills enough to warrant the cost? Also does it allow for storage in the attic. Right now I am not using the attic for storage because of the heat.

Give us a call (866-669-5259) when you're back in town and we can come out and take a look. We have many different solutions and can find the one that works best for you. Thanks