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Do you have any insulation in the attic already? If so, how much?

Your power company may have someone that will come and give an energy audit of your entire home. Usually its a free service, or very low cost. Its well worth looking into.

Attics in that age span are not just about insulation, but also ventilation.

If by replacing insulation you mess up the ventilation of the attic the insulation you place in there will cause more problems than it fixes, that will then all need to be removed if you do that (at further expense).

Hire someone by the details of the job. If all they say is add "x" inches of insulation without addressing ventilation it's probably not going to work out that well and is probably not worth the expense of doing anything.

This also doesn't mean to add power vents in the attic either. Natural ventilation is the best method. Figure out who is doing the work, not just the guy writing you the quote, bid, proposal (whatever you want to call it). Plenty of things to go wrong by just "spraying insulation everywhere". What are the skills of the guy "doing the work"? How much experience does he have?

I've been in attics that were re-insulated and they just buried everything in insulation. I couldn't walk fast enough to get away from that. Just paying for insulation is not the only part to this job, for it to "perform" as it should.

How hot does a car get with windows rolled up in the summer heat? An attic with poor ventilation similar result.

Thank you. I reached out to my electric company, they referred me to a energy consulting firm. They do: 1) an air ceiling check, 2) instillation check, 3) inspection of HVAC. Cost is $250. Would value your opinion on if you think this is worth my time and money. Thank you.

Are you able to go into the attic? If then take a look at what type of insulation you have and much is currently there. A house built in 1995 should have at least R-30 in the attic. But the code in your area may have been much less at that time. If you can't do this then get a quote from an insulation contractor to look at the attic for insulation and ventilation. Ask friends reputable companies. If you can't get a referral from someone you could read the one and two star reviews on Yelp as a last resort.

I think the energy audit is well worth 250.00, they will give you a lot of valuable information, and not only about your attic.

Thank you. I reached out to my electric company, they referred me to a energy consulting firm. They do: 1) an air ceiling check, 2) instillation check, 3) inspection of HVAC. Cost is $250. Would value your opinion on if you think this is worth my time and money. Thank you.

That cost is likely just a starting point depending on what they find.

1. This is likely air sealing check. Typically they look for wasteful air leaks, broken ducts things of that nature.

2. installation check. Looking for things that may have been done improperly in terms of equipment installed.

3. Inspection of HVAC. Overall condition, operation, efficiency of such etc.

So essentially less than $100 per each of these points. If your system is older, like say 12-15 years you're probably looking at replacment within the next few years... the energy consultant firm may tell you this too after it costing you $250.

Maybe they find something critical that extends the life a bit. Really a gamble. If the tech they send is good, finds / fixes something beneficial it gives you someone to call in the future.

I agree that they should provide you with useful information.

I service the Katy, Texas area.

Thank you. I live in GA, however, appreciate the feedback. Our HVAC is about 7 yrs old. I may hire a few insulation companies to give me an estimate. I'm sure we have air leaks as the house is old and we have not replaced all the windows, only some. Thanks again.

Do you know the annual heating and cooling costs of your house? That would be a good place to start to determine how large of an energy consumption problem you have.

As for spending $250, it appears this company is to going look at the attic insulation, tell you you have air leakage in some places, and look at your 7 year old HVAC equipment. There is some value in getting an independent assessment of your house's energy needs. But you can't expect much for a $250 visit which probably takes 20-30 minutes.

My advice is to check the attic insulation if it is not already in the R30 - R40 range, then add more insulation. Replace all the original windows and doors with a ones that have better performance. Your HVAC equipment is too new to replace. Spend money to maintain it so it will perform near its rated efficiency and give you another 10 - 15 years of service.

Most insulation companys will give you a free assessment of what insulation you have and what it would cost to upgrade. They may go to city for plans of what was installed or do an onsite measurement. if you know where your attic access is and are willing to climb up in your attic you can easily measure yourself. Batt and blow insulation do have different r values per inch and fiberglass, cellulose, and rockwool blow also differ so be sure you know what you are looking at.

Dont be calling insulation places yet. Wait until you have the energy audit, and see exactly what you need. You could end up with other problems, if it isnt all done correctly.

If your house was insulated to code originally, adding more insulation will only save a small amount of energy. People who are unfamiliar with thermodynamics think that if they double their insulation it will cut costs in half. It doesn't work that way. For example, if you have R-30 now, it has already reduced the heat flow by about 97% compared to an insulated space. That means that added insulation would cut into that remaining 3%. As an example, doubling the attic insulation from R-30 to R-60 would save about an additional 1.5%. You need to think about whether such a relatively marginal gain is worth a rather large capital expenditure. I'm not saying you can't save more energy, but you might save a lot more by reducing air infiltration around windows and doors with a couple of $5 tubes of caulk, and around electrical boxes with those 25 cent foam seals.

IMO $250 for an energy audit, conducted by a company vetted through your utility company, is a good investment. In my experience they come up with a range of options, including insulation, vents, crack sealing, window replacement, solar, etc., the approximate cost for each and the projectd payback period. They are up to speed on federal, state and local energy tax credits which, if available, can be a big help. From there you can make an informed decision. I wouldn't go blindly into any energy improvements before first having an independent audit done.

I agree that payback period is key. Putting in energy improvements with a 25 year payback in a house you'll sell in 5-10 years isn't economically sound and, unfortunately, are unlikely to be seen by a potential buyer as value-added, especially because many such improvements are "invisible."

You also have to take into account, whether your ventilation is enough, to handle more insulation. You might want to read this link. https://www.bobvila.com/articles/2083-home-renovation-ventilation-and-insulation/

And here is an instructive graph on the diminishing returns of adding more insulation that graphically illustrates what I was talking about above:

From a previous post of mine...

I blew 1000 pounds of cellulose insulation in my attic in about 4 hours. Cost was $500. It's a pretty easy though dusty project, kind of like blowing out dust from a vacuum cleaner. Cellulose is much nicer than fiberglass and better R-value. More info if you like or hit youtube.

Or read some reviews from what I used...

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Greenfiber-All-Borate-Cellulose-Blow-In-Insulation-30-lbs-36-Bags-INS765LD/300584221

And about a year later really notice the improvement. Lots of youtube videos on this. Cellulose is easy, no downside of fiberglass. A good DIY project.

I just noticed that link above may not work (out of stock) so start here. And FYI, you get it delivered for free if you get a palette and free machine rental for a day.

https://www.homedepot.com/s/borate%2520cellulose%2520insulation?NCNI-5

badabing-

I agree that it makes sense to do it yourself and save money. The question remains whether the OP will benefit from more insulation given the levels that are already there....