Why not add another useless category to a blog I barely update?
Going Green…Finally
Today we purchased radiant barrier insulation from Green Barrier Energy after seeing it at the annual, local home show. Radiant barrier is thin mylar (like the balloons) foil that reflects heat. It is installed in various places around the home, but ours will cover the top of the attic, or underside of the roof. It has some sound science behind it, and the demos are impressive. Is it worth it?
I’m not going into how it works. Check out any number of videos online. I like this one. It shows how it is really done. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-ShAiclBt4&feature=related
The House
My house is a spaceship. Your argument is invalid.
Our house is 1780 square feet, located in central Kentucky. All one story, except for a loft/bonus room. It turns 5 this year. Built by Beazer Homes at the height of the housing boom (bubble).
One important note: Our furnace is high efficiency, but it is located in the attic space. (Heat pump is outside of course.) The salesman stopped when he saw that and said that is a bad design. I have to agree. The furnace is working against 140-160 degree air in the summer, and against 30 degree air in the winter. Basically it is outside with a roof over it.
All electric home with 2 adults and 3 kids and the bill is $190 on a budget. It was $130 until October 2010, and will drop to $160 next month. The power company adjusts it at least every six months. YOU SHOULD BE ON A BUDGET if possible. Call your utility provider.
The sales guy said we had one of the highest budget bills he had seen (of course). However I asked our neighbor and they’re paying $105, but just two adults and 100 less sq. feet. I’m going to poll all of our neighbors.
The Science
The standard demo is (also on YouTube) is two heat lamps heating a two chamber box. One chamber with a couple of inches of standard insulation, and the other with insulation plus foil. In our demo the hot side was 180, and the foil side was 110. Saw that at the home show.
The cool thing was after an hour or so the sales guy threw a piece of the foil in hot side. After a few minutes the temperature dropped to 100 degrees. Less than the original side. I’m sold on the product’s performance.
The Deal
It cost us $3000. $1500 down and $50 per month, no interest. I don’t know if that’s a good deal. They will cover the underside of our roof, the gables at the ends of the house, and the knee walls around the bonus room. Plus they will wrap our water heater. We must have a yard sign for 30 days, give 5 referrals, and write a letter in 6 months saying how great it is. How would they enforce any of that!?
Some quick notes on the sales pitch. It’s a good pitch, but the sales guy is aggressive. He was nice, and I liked the guy. But he is working on commission. “The original price was $7800, but with today’s deal and your home show coupon……..” argh. We sat at a price point of $5000 for awhile. I turned him down, and he was almost out the door before dropping to $3000. He was here for TWO hours. It was just like buying a car at dealership.
They promise a reduction of 50% on heating costs. I don’t see our bill dropping to $80. I was working off a $190 bill at the time of sale. But the power company had us adjusted high after a very cold winter.
The product itself is cheap, about $125 for 1000 square feet. But not all barriers are the same. And like anything, you pay for labor.
Working in the attic is not enjoyable for me. I consider myself a DIYer, but attic work sucks. If you watch the video I linked you will see the installers lying down to reach the lowest points. YUCK! Also our home & attic design is simple, but peak is over 10 feet above the attic floor. Not my thing, so I can hire this out. (Our neighbors paid $1200 for interior paint. We thought that was crazy.
I kind of feel some buyer’s remorse after checking online, but again. It’s a job I do not want.
The Final Verdict
We shall see. The product isn’t even in yet. I will check the attic temp tomorrow, then again post install and report.I was up there today. It was 75 and sunny outside. It was well over 100 in the attic at 6pm.
April & May are our cheapest months utility wise as the windows are open (even now at 1:22AM). I plan to keep checking the attic temp and report.
