Warming the Neighborhood

We live in an old house, so we weren't surprised to find out that it could use some help in the insulation department. It was alarming just the same to see the gaping blue holes where the winter cold just waltzes right in. We really had no idea. It's not like we compare monthly heating bills with all the neighbors. Of course, it makes us wonder how well their houses are insulated too.

Our local insulation contractor came in with a nifty infrared device that can detect and visually map the energy emitting from the walls, windows, corners, and doors. We learned that we have plenty of gaps in the walls where the insulation is non-existent or too thin. We also have heat escaping around the foundation as well as at the juncture of an overlapping roof where an addition was put on the house ten years ago.

The contractor estimated that we could save 20-30% of our heating bill with an update to our insulation. That seems like a significant amount of dollars and fuel. He's going to prepare a quote for us for doing the work. That will certainly play into the equation. Then I'll be able to do a break even analysis to see how long such savings might take to pay for the insulation work.

The other thing I'll look at is the energy and material used to do the updated insulation work. That needs to be part of the equation too. The contractor is suggesting spray foam as the answer. I'll be researching that soon.