Cut your heating bills by 30%

Solutions aren't cheap

To help us out, Dundon outlined his solution to each problem, put a price tag on each and then asked us to determine how each solution fits in with our plans for the house.

The crawl space. Dundon proposed laying down a membrane in the crawl space, which would seal out moisture, and then spraying the walls of our stone foundation with foam insulation (it would look like a padded cell afterward). Price: $3,700.

The problem is that this choice does the least to address the problem of hot air leaking out, which is our primary concern right now.

The walls. This would be the easiest and cheapest fix. Densely packed cellulose insulation would be sprayed down into the walls from the attic. Price: $1,900.

This sounds good, but walls typically are not the biggest source of heat loss in a home. This job costs the least but would result in the smallest savings on our bills.

The attic. Here, Dundon offered us economy, business and first-class options.

The bargain option would be to remove the attic floorboards, spray insulation between the joists and do some top-down insulation of the exterior walls. Price: $2,800.

The midrange choice would include all that plus the construction of a fully insulated subfloor. This would more than double the cost of the economy job. Price: $6,300.

To go all the way, we would essentially make the attic climate-controlled by sealing and insulating the roof rafters. We could dispense with insulating the floor and be comfortable up there year-round, and maybe even keep out the bats that visit us in summer. That would be ideal, but it would be too expensive right now. Price: $8,100.

The final analysis

The most appealing solution to us, for the price and the energy efficiency, is the economy attic job, because it would seal the attic and insulate most of the second floor.

Though the price of $2,800 is far more than we expect to see our heating bills increase if we do nothing, Dundon estimates the work would make our house 20% to 35% more efficient.

If we ended up paying $4.41 a gallon for oil, that could save us between $700 and $1,200 a year. Thus, this first phase of improvements would take about three or four years to pay for itself -- less if the price of oil rose.

There's also the tax break to consider.

The energy policy act of 2005 only gave consumers federal tax credits on certain home upgrades or purchases through 2007.

This month, President Bush signed an extension of a law that gives consumers federal tax credits on certain home upgrades. The credits expired in 2007 but will resume next year.

The tax incentive is significant. For most energy-efficient home improvements, you can get up to a $500 tax credit. That's not a deduction; your tax bill is reduced by $500. (Other energy-efficient improvements -- wind turbine, anyone? -- have greater or lesser rebates, so make sure you check.)

Meanwhile, check out other programs that are available locally. Some states offer low-interest loans or even direct grants for certain projects. Most of these have an income cap (my husband and I weren't eligible for the ones in New York state).

Call your local fuel company, utility company, even your fire department. A growing number of service providers are offering free assessments of homes and energy usage, and suggestions for ways to cut bills.

Still, big savings demand big investments. That's not the message many of us want to hear when budgets are tight and credit is tighter.

On the other hand, I'm tired of spending Saturday afternoons putting heat tape around pipes and plastic wrap over windows when it seems we don't get any money back.

Published Oct. 22, 2008

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