Energy Star and Efficiency Maine
Insulation is one of the few home improvements with money attached to it. Worth understanding before the work starts, not after.
What Energy Star is, briefly
Energy Star is a federal labeling program. For insulation it mostly shows up as guidance on how much you should have for your climate zone - Maine is zone 6, which currently means R-60 in the attic. More on R-value.
The label itself does not do anything for your heating bill. Sealing the building does. But the guidance is a reasonable target and rebate programs tend to reference it.
Efficiency Maine
Efficiency Maine runs the rebate and incentive programs most Maine homeowners will actually be eligible for, including insulation and air sealing work. Programs, amounts and eligibility change, so we are not going to print a figure here that is wrong in six months.
Check before the job, not after. Some programs want a pre-work assessment, a specific documented scope, or a registered contractor. A rebate you find out about afterwards is usually a rebate you cannot claim. It is worth one phone call to Efficiency Maine before we start, and we are happy to give you whatever documentation the program wants.
Where the actual savings come from
Not from the label. From closing the gaps. In most older Maine houses the heat is leaving by air movement rather than conduction, which is the loss no R-value figure on any product measures. More on air sealing, and on why the whole shell has to be continuous.
Where to start
Usually the attic, because it is where the biggest single loss is in most houses and it is generally the cheapest square footage to treat. Attic insulation.
Get a Real Number for Your Job
(207) 452-2930Call and talk to us. If you would rather write it down, use the form and we will call you back. Mon-Fri 7am-5pm.