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Overheard a contractor in Palm Springs say 'insulation doesn't matter' in the desert... yikes
I was at a hardware store in Palm Springs last Saturday and heard a young guy talking to a customer. He told them insulation is a waste of money here because it's always hot anyway. That is backwards thinking. Good insulation keeps the cool air in during summer and the heat out. I just finished adding radiant barrier foil to my attic in La Quinta and my AC ran maybe 40 percent less last month. Has anyone else had to correct this kind of bad advice from local handymen?
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alice_allen51d ago
Lol I literally just spent a weekend in my attic sweating like a pig installing that same foil, but hey my electric bill finally dropped below my mortgage payment so worth it.
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holly70923h ago
My electric bill dropped like 15% last summer after I put that stuff in, and I was honestly shocked because I thought I was just wasting my money. But here is the thing, I live in Phoenix where it hits 115 in June, and that attic gets hotter than a pizza oven. I had to buy a second roll because I messed up the first time trying to cut it in the dark with scissors. The sweating was brutal, I nearly passed out from the heat up there, but the payoff is real when you see the AC not running all day. I still think it was worth it even if my arms were scratched up for a week from the fiberglass.
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Jumped right into my attic last month to check on some ductwork and found half the insulation had been pushed aside by the previous owner. @holly709 is totally right about the sweating, I was drenched in like five minutes and had to crawl back down for water three times. But honestly it drove me crazy how many people think insulation is just for cold climates, like heat doesn't move through your ceiling the same way in August. It's part of this bigger thing I see where people treat desert living like everything is just about managing the sun directly, but they forget the house itself needs to hold onto that cool air you're paying for.
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