Insulation, Radiant and Vapor Barriers - Impact of increasing attic insulation from 9" to 16"?

I have a 2001 built 2000sq/ft bilevel, been thinking of increasing the attic insulation to this current code R-50 depth, what type of impact will it make in my home's efficiency and heating/cooling bills? Looks like 80cents/sqft is the going rate... making sure it's worth it.

I thought this may help.


Energy Savers: Estimating the Payback Period of Additional Insulation (http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11360)

The formula at this site will estimate the cost effectiveness of adding insulation in terms of the "years to payback" for savings in heating costs. Years to payback is the time required for the insulation to save enough fuel from heating (at present prices) to pay for itself. A simple payback is the initial investment divided by annual savings after taxes.

Let me know if this worked for you. I am an Energy Advisor in Ontario and trying to learn as much as I can about attic and wall insulation.
I would appreciate any related info you may have. I would like to get an idea how much it costs and how efficient it is to insulate attics up to r50 and higher.

Ok I have 960sq/ft total attic space at R32 currently, today they blew in another 9" to bring 672sq/ft up to R60 (couldn't get the sides at the trusses obviuosly), I just went ahead and had it done since the house was built in 2001 and R50+ is preferred these days, hope it makes a difference since I didn't get any opinions *shrug*

Well..I really don't remember the original post..but more is better in this case..you'll be happy if it was done correctly.

Hi Is3c6, I missed your original post also, but see the date, my wife's baby sister was killed the night of the 22nd, car in NJ got her. Not trying to make you feel bad, just helps to talk.

Anyway, the upgrade will help, and there are other places that can help as well. Happy to help you look for more.

Bud

Bud, I feel sad for your loss, my sympathies.

Origanal poster, make sure you have enough attic ventilation: BSD-102: Understanding Attic Ventilation — (http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-102-understanding-attic-ventilation?full_view=1)
Figure 1/100: Air Vent: Continuous Soffit Vents Specifications (http://www.airvent.com/homeowner/products/intakeSoffit-specs.shtml)

Matt, check these out: Roof Insulation and Diminishing Returns (http://www.buildings.com/ArticleDetails/tabid/3321/ArticleID/6061/Default.aspx)
http://www.enersavesystems.com/pdf/Economic-Thickness-of-Thermal-Insulation.pdf
Be safe, Gary

Thanks Gary. She grew with my kids, same age. Drifting

Bud

My experience with this situation is that it does very little. More than likely the money would have been better spent increasing R-values in walls or the basement, sealing air gaps, etc. The best way to know for sure is to have a Manual-J heat loss/gain performed. I'd recommend buying the 3 month usage versions for a homeowner and once you enter all the info and the program "builds" a model for you, you can start to change r-value in different sections of the house and see which gives you the most impact. I paid $49 for my 3 month version and it has already saved me $100's of dollars because like you I was planning on putting more insulation in the attic when what I really needed to do was add more to the basement walls and seal some air gaps.