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This web site is for homeowners and building professionals who
want to determine if they have proper insulation in their attic
and what to do about it if they don’t. Advanced Insulation provides
this information for you to evaluate your insulation, how to correctly
shop for insulation if you have problems and how to define a quality
insulation job.
At Advanced Insulation we understand that attics are like a netherworld
in which nobody wants to go up into, let alone invest any money
into making repairs. Yet “if” your attic insulation is deficient,
there is an opportunity to correct the problem and in turn reduce
your utility costs, increase your comfort and help the environment.
In a house with significant insulation problems the benefits can
be quite substantial.
We encourage consumers not to take their attic insulation for granted.
Compared to other energy efficient strategies, blowing more insulation
into an attic is a relatively inexpensive investment.
We emphasize attic insulation because this is where we find most
of the major insulation problems in homes in Arizona.
Based on our experience of inspecting thousands of homes in Arizona,
we genuinely believe there are hundreds of thousands of homes that
either have missing or poorly installed attic insulation. It has
been well documented that during the 80's and 90's mediocre insulation
work and cheating were quite common in the insulation industry.
Prior to the 80's, builders simply didn't install enough insulation
in attics to achieve maximum insulation performance.
Most consumers and building professionals don’t realize that very
small defects in the attic insulation system create a huge reduction
in R-value (R-value measures resistance to heat flow – the greater
the R-value, the greater the insulating power). A home that is missing
5% of the attic insulation will see a resulting drop in R-value
of 50%. During inspections of existing homes, we routinely see about
a dozen typical problems that reduce R-value and compromise comfort.
We will carefully identify and describe these problems in this web
site.
We will also show you the visual impact of these insulation defects
with our infrared camera. Our infrared camera can actually see heat
gain or heat loss, which is an indicator of missing or poorly installed
insulation. We’ve invested in this expensive technology because
we are in the business of preventing heat gain and heat loss, which
is the very thing the infrared camera sees. Using this technology
has made us a more quality conscious insulation company.
We often tell consumers that quality attic insulation pays for itself
twice. The first time is on a monthly basis when you receive a lower
utility bill. The second time occurs when you go to sell your home.
If you have quality attic insulation, you are not providing an opportunity
for a home inspector to find a flaw in your home, which often becomes
a point of negotiation by the buyer for a reduced sale price. This
scenario is common in Arizona and will only become more typical
as energy prices and concern for the environment increase.
If it is determined that your attic has missing or poorly installed
insulation, we have provided a ten step process to
shop for insulation for existing homes. We
have provided this guide for shopping for retrofit insulation for
your benefit and ours. We are very familiar with shortcuts some
insulation contractors take that result in inferior work. We believe
it is to your advantage, as well as ours and the environments, if
there is a clear standard for excellence in retrofit insulation.
Advanced Insulation has a long history of championing quality
insulation practices. In 2001 Mike Uniacke, the owner of Advanced
Insulation, was featured as a consumer advocate and insulation expert
on a Date Line NBC
expose that was critical of insulation industry. He also wrote
the article, Cheating the Insulation’s Industry’s Secret, in Nov/Dec
2000 issue of
Home Energy Magazine.
What separates Advanced Insulation from its competition is that
we treat insulation like an integral system and not a commodity.
We take pride in doing quality work and this web site defines a
quality job. Our approach to the market is to perform excellent
work, so our customers feel comfortable recommending us to their
friends and neighbors.
Advanced Insulation has locations in Phoenix and Prescott and
we service the Flagstaff market. We are also a proud member of the
Better Business Bureau. For a free insulation estimate from
Advanced Insulation contact us by calling our toll free number or
submitting a request for an estimate on-line.
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