Not Just An Insulation Company…What Differentiates the “Performance Contractor”.
With the sudden onset of winter after a decidedly mild fall in North Carolina, the phones have been ringing off the hook with people fed up with cold drafty homes and high energy bills, looking to take advantage of the last few weeks left of the federal tax credit for energy efficient upgrades.
We could easily go in and insulate attics (our top request) within a few hours, walk away and leave a home owner thinking they are all set. In fact, many insulation company do just that, happy to take your money and walk away. What differentiates the “Performance Contractor” is the knowledge that insulation alone will not work effectively unless it has been applied against a functioning air barrier. A fact that is well known by the energy efficiency & performance contracting professionals. In fact, Progress Energy with the guidance of Advanced Energy, provide rebates and incentives to their customers who add insulation, will not issue a rebate unless air sealing measures have been applied prior to insulating.
I recently read a blog post which illustrated this principle clearly and in terms we can all relate to, so I can’t claim credit for originating it, but I will share it with you.
Imagine you are heading out for a brisk winter walk and there is a slight breeze outside. You grab your heavy-weight fleece jacket (insulation) the leash and your trusty walking companion. Within minutes of your walk, despite your heavy-weight jacket you find yourself shivering and quickly head back inside. “What gives?” you ask yourself? I’m insulated! The culprit at work here is air infiltration. Without an air barrier, all of the heated air which would normally be trapped in your fleece jacket is being driven out and replaced with cold air from outside as it simply blows through your jacket. Using your superior gifts of deductive reasoning you quickly conclude that what is needed, is some way to prevent the wind from moving through your fleece and robing your insulation of valuable heat. You spot your windbreaker (air barrier) hanging in your closet, put it on over your fleece and confidently head back outside.
The same principles are at work every minute of every day in your house. Without an effective air barrier, your insulation will be defeated by cold and hot air currents reducing the effectiveness of any insulation installed. In order to air seal, we often have to pull back existing insulation in order to access the ceiling/attic floor in order to expose all of the electrical and plumbing penetrations, chases, light and other fixtures, dropped soffits, etc. Basically anything that may allow your precious conditioned air up through the ceiling into the attic, through the insulation and out of the house.
This takes more time and costs more than simply insulating, but gets the job done properly. So don’t rush out to get your attic insulated by the first company who says they can do it. You may save a few hundred dollars, but in the long run you will lose many hundred more over the life of the house. As the saying goes, you can pay now or pay later, but either way you will pay. Often paying later will cost you more and leave you frustrated with a job poorly done.
