Click on a photo to enlarge.
Attic insulation in this customer's home was old and very dirty. Over many years, it sat there collecting dirt, dust, pollen, bugs, rodent feces (from mice, squirrels, bats, etc.), bird droppings and nests of all kinds of undesirable things. It's possible that old insulation like this can be moved aside for a proper air sealing job that must be done prior to adding enough TruSoft™ blown cellulose insulation to today's standards - but we removed the old, nasty insulation from our customer's home so she could start fresh. Fogarty's Home Services conducted the unpleasant task of removing the damaged, soiled insulation in her attic. The batt insulation was bagged and then the attic was vacuumed to remove pieces, parts and dust. Loose fill insulation was also vacuumed with a giant vacuum located outside with giant filter bags and a very long, fat hose. Result - Now our customer's attic is clean! It's ready for proper air sealing and installation of clean, new, fresh TruSoft™ cellulose insulation or one of our other Dr. Energy Saver strategies to make her home comfortable and energy efficient.
This homeowner in Enfield, CT called us hoping that we would be able to help her with her attic's issues. One of the many problems was that her attic was extremely susceptible to temperature changes, being very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. This affected the duct system in her home. Attics are the extreme opposite temperature of the air the ducts are trying to distribute to the rooms. They are 30˚F in winter when the air in the duct is 120˚F, and 125˚F in summer, when the air inside the duct is 55˚F. These ducts were very poorly insulated with fiberglass insulation - and air passes right through fiberglass. In winter the attic cools the duct and air in it. So instead of having 120˚F air that the homeowner paid to heat coming out of the registers into the rooms, it may be only 90˚F - making the occupants uncomfortable. The furnace also ran longer to heat the home - which cost them money. In the summer, the 120˚F + attic heats the ducts and air in them, and instead of 55˚F air that they paid to cool coming into the rooms, it may be 70˚ - reheated by the ducts in their hot attic. The AC has to run longer to make the home comfortable. Ducts have lots of joints, gaps and holes. These are not only air leaks into the vented attic when the air handler is OFF, but they are POWERED air leaks when it’s on. Air the homeowner paid to heat and cool was leaking out of the ducts into the attic and was lost! Result - Uncomfortable rooms, some rooms (farther from the air handler) won’t heat/cool, higher fuel and electric bills, more dust, more noise.
We had the perfect solution for this customer. We were able to seal and insulate the ducts right over the existing insulation with 1” of closed cell foam insulation. Air cannot leak through the foam. Not only does Tite ‘n’ True Foam Duct Encapsulation have a superior R-value per inch, but it recovers some insulation value from the existing duct wrap by making it air tight. Any inaccessible areas on the bottom of ducts can’t be sprayed with foam, luckily, this solution was combined with TruSoft™ blown insulation. This means that the ducts were substantially buried in cellulose insulation as well. Now, when the furnace or air conditioner heats or cools the air, that heating/cooling is delivered to the rooms without loss along the way! Results - More comfortable rooms, warmer in winter and cooler in summer, less dust/noise, lower fuel/electric bills, longer furnace/AC equipment life.
This homeowner in Manchester, CT called in looking to insulate her attic, her home was not energy efficient and she was happy to be able to finally address it. The air that she was paying to heat and cool was escaping through her improperly air sealed attic.
We first removed the old insulation and debris (including a deceased bat!) from the attic. With the space cleaned up, we air sealed each and every space where air could leak from the home up into the attic. Lastly, we insulated with our blown in TruSoft cellulose.
With the help of Dr. Energy Saver by Eco Energy Solutions, this homeowner is now saving money and staying comfortable in her home.
This homeowner in Manchester, CT was experiencing a problem with ice damming. She also wanted to prevent warm air from leaking into her attic in the winter. Our team installed our Super Knee Wall system. These SilverGlo panels create a barrier to prevent air leakage. The homeowner was very happy with the results. The cost of heating and cooling her home will be reduced and the home will be more comfortable year-round.
This homeowner in Holyoke, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help him with his attic insulation. He wanted it replaced before winter.
We were able to help this customer! We started by removing the batt insulation, bagging it and bringing it out. We also removed the wooden boards and debris from the attic. We then began air sealing, making sure that all cracks and crevices were sealed. We used Zypfoam™ one part spray foam to air seal. We then used a long hose attached to a machine that blows our TruSoft™ cellulose insulation into the attic. TruSoft™ cellulose is able to fill all gaps and odd-shaped voids, as it is blown in insulation.
Now, this homeowner has a much more comfortable home!