Attic insulation has become quite a big business. But is insulation really the key to lowering your utility bills? Not entirely, says Bill Hutchins, a Wilmington, NC home energy audit specialist. Hutchins, whose company Southeastern Energy provides energy audits and quality green building products for Wilmington homeowners, says that making noticeable improvements in your home’s energy efficiency takes a multi-pronged approach.
Insulation vs. Radiant Barrier
About 40% of your home’s energy loss, Hutchins says, is indeed through your home’s roof. When it comes to keeping your Wilmington home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, one of the most significant improvements you can make is to install a radiant barrier system. Southeastern Energy offers a radiant barrier system manufactured by eShield. The eShield Attic Energy Barrier can stop over 97% of radiant heat transfer, which is the primary source of energy loss through any home’s attic.
This state-of-the-art foil lining works by reflecting North Carolina’s intense summer heat away from the home, rather than absorbing it like traditional insulation. Because heat is reflected up and back out of the attic, your home’s attic stays cool, making it easier and more energy-efficient to keep the interior of your home cool. In the winter, the radiant barrier reflects heat back down toward the home’s interior rather than allowing it to escape through the attic.
Because the eShield radiant barrier system works for the life of your home and requires no maintenance or replacement, it is one of the most cost-effective ways to lower your heating and cooling costs.
What Is a Ten-Point Energy Audit?
While a radiant barrier can certainly help you lower your bills, it’s very possible that you could be cutting your energy costs in other areas too. For this reason, Southeastern Energy offers a no-cost ten-point energy analysis designed to help you identify areas in which your home is less energy-efficient than it could be.
“Our ten-point energy audit gives you a complete picture of your home’s energy-efficiency and what can be done to improve it,” Hutchins says. Your energy audit, he says, will include not only the amount and types of insulation in your attic, but also whether or not adequate ventilation is present.
Southeastern’s expert auditors also look at your major appliances – furnace, air conditioner and water heater, in particular – to identify areas of inefficiency. Is your water heater tank insulated, for example? Are you fully utilizing your programmable thermostat? With a trained eye, one can almost always find ways to make your home’s major systems less costly to operate.
Also included in your ten-point audit are the condition of your home’s windows and doors, the types and amount of insulation in your home’s walls, and a number of other factors that could be contributing to wasted energy. Once the audit is complete, you will be provided with a list of potential efficiency problems and ways to address them. The result? You could cut your utility costs by up to 40% - how’s that for savings?