Good news if you are planning or have been thinking about insulating your attic. The federal energy tax incentive is back and runs through 2013. Insulating the "envelope" or "shell" of your home — its outer walls, ceiling, windows, doors, and floors — is often the most cost effective way to improve energy efficiency and comfort according to The Energy Star Website. ENERGY STAR estimates that up can save up to 20% on heating and cooling costs (or up to 10% on their total annual energy bill) by sealing and insulating.

Insulation keeps your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. There are several common types of insulation, Thomas Pest Services offers TAP Insulation. TAP Insulation is a blown in cellouse insulation made principally from recycled paper infused with borates. The result is a thermal and acoustically superior insulation product that is environmentally sensitive and also helps control pests! TAP outperforms traditional fiberglass insulation by 32% and, as a denser, loose-fill insulation, TAP fills in all of the nooks and crannies traditional insulation rolls do not.

Insulation performance is measured by R-value — its ability to resist heat flow. Higher R-values mean more insulating power. Different R-values are recommended for walls, attics, basements and crawlspaces, depending on your area of the country. Insulation works best when air is not moving through or around it. The recommended R-Value for the Albany NY area is an R-49 according to The Energy Star Website.

To get the biggest savings, the easiest place to add insulation is usually in the attic. A quick way to see if you need more insulation is to look across your uncovered attic floor. If your insulation is level with or below the attic floor joists, you probably need to add more insulation.

The Energy Star incentive allows customer the ability to claim 10% of the material cost only up to $500 on an attic insulation removal/replacement or attic cap. This excludes tax, labor, etc. Additionally, this credit is retroactive to January 1, 2012, but any energy upgrade credits that the homeowner has claimed back to January 1st 2006 will settle against the credits earned from the Insulation job. It is not $500 for each individual energy star upgrade, it is an aggregate total.

TAP Insulation has many benefits other insulations simply do not offer. If you are looking to save money, consider your Albany NY insulation specialists and TAP Insulation. Insulating your Clifton Park NY home is an investment and now the perfect time. Save money with The Energy Star incentive, reduce your energy costs and continually save money while living in the structure. Contact Thomas Pest Services for a free insulation inspection and estimate to begin saving money!