Energy
Attic Insulation Pays Back Faster Than Almost Any Other Upgrade
Topping up attic insulation typically pays for itself in two to five years; replacement windows often take fifteen to thirty.
Payback is loss reduction divided by cost. An attic is a large horizontal plane with a big temperature difference across it, and insulation there is easy to install with no structural work. Cost per square metre is a fraction of any glazing job.
Windows deserve replacing when they are rotten, single glazed, or draughty, but framed purely as an energy investment they sit near the bottom of the list. Air sealing and attic depth sit at the top.
Put this into practice
- Insulation R-Value CalculatorWhat R-value do I need, and how much?
- Energy Savings CalculatorWill this upgrade pay for itself?
More facts like this
- Compressing Insulation Destroys Most of Its ValueAn R-19 batt crushed into a 2x4 cavity performs at roughly R-13 — you pay for R-19 and install R-13.
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- Watts Stopped Meaning Brightness Two Decades AgoLumens measure light; watts measure consumption. An LED can produce eight times the light of an incandescent at the same wattage.