gregnash
Anal Retentive Analyst
So I was lucky enough to be accepted into an Energy Efficiency program by the state. An evaluator came out to my house today and spent about 2hrs going through everything from pressurizing the house to checking ducting for leaking, insulation, major appliance energy usage, windows, doors, etc.
I will have the full report in a few days but the guys gave me an idea of his findings....
Little background... Our house is 1368sqft and was built in 1963. We bought it from the children of the original owner after she had passed away and they had done a few improvements to it. For instance, the front windows and French doors to the sunroom were replaced with nice Anderson items, carpet was redone, oil furnace was replaced with a nearer 85% efficiency furnace, etc.
The house is still rocking the original single pane, aluminum framed windows everywhere else as well as the original stove, cooktop and refrigerator from 1987. We replace the waterheater in 2011 when the old one from 1979 died on us and the electrical has been upgraded at the sockets to the standard 3-prong receptacles and at the fuse box with an actual breaker box, not old socket style fuses.
So talking with the guys he said our insulation was definitely an issue. State guidelines say we need an R49 value for the attic and ours is rated at R11. On top of that the subflooring is NOT insulated at all in the crawlspace thus he said while we have some insulating factors in the house the cold from the crawlspace really isn't helping matters.
My question is, once I get the full evaluation from him we have the option to do nothing with it, or pick certain items that the state will then give a non-interest bearing loan to fix. We will have a maximum of $6k to take from the loan of which they will automatically take $100 out of each paycheck, pre-tax, as a state employee. We will PROBABLY spend the majority of the money on new windows for the rest of the house but I was wondering if the insulation is really something that I should have a contractor do OR is it something that I can do myself, easily?
I will have the full report in a few days but the guys gave me an idea of his findings....
Little background... Our house is 1368sqft and was built in 1963. We bought it from the children of the original owner after she had passed away and they had done a few improvements to it. For instance, the front windows and French doors to the sunroom were replaced with nice Anderson items, carpet was redone, oil furnace was replaced with a nearer 85% efficiency furnace, etc.
The house is still rocking the original single pane, aluminum framed windows everywhere else as well as the original stove, cooktop and refrigerator from 1987. We replace the waterheater in 2011 when the old one from 1979 died on us and the electrical has been upgraded at the sockets to the standard 3-prong receptacles and at the fuse box with an actual breaker box, not old socket style fuses.
So talking with the guys he said our insulation was definitely an issue. State guidelines say we need an R49 value for the attic and ours is rated at R11. On top of that the subflooring is NOT insulated at all in the crawlspace thus he said while we have some insulating factors in the house the cold from the crawlspace really isn't helping matters.
My question is, once I get the full evaluation from him we have the option to do nothing with it, or pick certain items that the state will then give a non-interest bearing loan to fix. We will have a maximum of $6k to take from the loan of which they will automatically take $100 out of each paycheck, pre-tax, as a state employee. We will PROBABLY spend the majority of the money on new windows for the rest of the house but I was wondering if the insulation is really something that I should have a contractor do OR is it something that I can do myself, easily?
