Attic energy saving/insulation complete...now let's see if it makes a difference. (Phoenix: house, water heater)

[HX_Guy]

Had all the steps of the energy savings/insulation completed today and am really curious to see how it will affect the comfort in the house as well as the impact on the electric bill.

If you recall, we have a serious problem where the front half of the house gets very warm in the summer (81º-82º) while the AC is set to 76º at the other end of the house, where it's nice and cool. Then in the afternoon/evening, it reverses and the front is cooler than the back.

We had some pretty minimal insulation in the attic so we wanted to take care of that but also wanted to take a few more steps. Did everything over a period of about a month, first the "Solar Shield" lining/re-align the batt, then the insulation/water heater wrap and finally the attic exhaust fan.

The "Solar Shield" had a pretty big effect on attic temperatures. Normally, from what I understand, attics here in Phoenix get to 145º+ during the summer when its 110º outside. With the "Solar Shield" installed, the highest temperature I've seen was 106º in the attic, actually cooler than the outside air temperature.
This didn't really translate to any noticeable difference inside the house though as far as I could feel.

We then did the Insulation and the Water Heater wrap. With the Insulation, I instantly felt the difference. Where before it would be 81º in the front room and 76º in the back, I could now keep the back at 77º and the front would be 79º. Seemed to really even things out a bit. The Water Heater Wrap made a pretty noticeable difference as well, I was able to turn the thermostat much lower on the water heater and get the same hot water as before from the shower.

Finally today we had the attic exhaust fan installed, the highest the temperature reached in the attic was 102º, down from 106º without the fan.

Some before and after pictures, big difference in the amount of insulation up there...

[Zippyman]

What r value did you take the attic to?

[HX_Guy]

Originally Posted by Zippyman

What r value did you take the attic to?

Invoice says "R19 Insulation" so I take it they added R19 value to whatever was there, but I don't know what was there in the first place.

[waltcolorado]

Thanks for posting this. I need to do the same thing

[sunluv]

I'm going through the same issue with one room significantly higher temp; there's not much insulation in the attic above the room so it'll be addressed in a week or so. What you found sounds hopeful.

Wrapping the water heater i'll have to try, and I was thinking this week about what to do about the attic temp so maybe a fan.

Let us know what happens in a few days, in a week and two weeks if you can. Thanks

[jimj]

I can tell you it should make a difference. When we built our last house I went with R51 in the cap (attic) and people always commented "you must love your A/C". Thing is, we didn't have A/C as the summer heat was just not long enough to warrant the expense.
Winter time, our bills were always well under our neighbors.

[Zippyman]

The only thing I wonder about is the water heater wrap - in the winter, it's no doubt worthwhile, but in the summer, my garage gets over 100 degrees - effectively "pre-heating" the water @ no cost. They aren't expensive, so you're not risking much though.

[nightgirl151]

What company did the work? We have been thinking of doing the solar shield as well...we added extra insulation in our attic last year, and still having warmer rooms in the house...

[Newporttom]

And do you mind saying what you paid? That will be a huge factor is "was it worth it"?

[robabeatle]

Originally Posted by Zippyman

The only thing I wonder about is the water heater wrap - in the winter, it's no doubt worthwhile, but in the summer, my garage gets over 100 degrees - effectively "pre-heating" the water @ no cost. They aren't expensive, so you're not risking much though.

Speaking of saving money, my friend runs some flexible piping up to his garage roof prior to entering his water heater with a valve and secondary route that is not exposed for winter. He says it works really well and there are plans online.