Consumers still have a couple of months to qualify for tax credits for making their homes more energy efficient. Here is a quick recap of the 2011 tax credits available for windows, doors and insulation.

Consumers can qualify for a tax credit up to 10% of the cost of qualified replacement windows (new-construction products are not applicable), or a maximum of $200, or up to 10% or a maximum of $500 of the cost of qualified doors. This new tax credit applies to ENERGY STAR labeled windows and doors. Certain types of insulation—such as Radiaflect reflective insulation products—also qualify for a tax credit of up to $500 or 10% of the cost of the project. Products must be installed between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011 to qualify for tax credits.

There is one slight “catch” however. Consumers are limited to a lifetime maximum tax credit of $500 for any combination of tax credit qualifying products (windows, doors, insulation, HVAC, roofing, etc) from Jan 1, 2006, to Dec. 31, 2011. That means that consumers who have already reached or exceeded the $500 limit are not eligible to claim the credit in 2011. More information on the tax credits can be found at http://www.gorell.com/taxcredits/.

Consumers who are considering making their homes more energy efficient may want to move quickly to get their home improvements completed before the end of the year. After all, who is going to turn down several hundred dollars of “free money” – plus even more savings as a result of a more efficient home!

I came across a useful article on-line this morning – “The Heat is On – But Energy Efficiency Can Curb Summer Energy Bills.” The article offered energy-efficiency tips in three different areas -- Keeping Your Cool, Keeping the Heat Outside and Clever in the Kitchen.

Two of the tips, in particular, caught my attention, because they focused on advice that I – and other contributors -- often give on this blog. Those two very important tips were:

“Consider investing in energy-efficient windows to save money and increase indoor comfort.” It’s true -- the combination of highly insulating frame materials and a wide variety of Low-E glass options make replacement windows one of the best ways to increase the thermal efficieny of homes—and DECREASE energy bills!

“Plug energy leaks with weather stripping and caulking, and be sure your house is properly insulated, to save up to 20% on energy bills.” That’s a pretty significant savings – 20% -- more than enough reason to re-evaluate your home’s insulation. And summer is the perfect time to consider installing reflective insulation in attics to help cut energy costs and keep these spaces more comfortable.

To read the complete article, and learn more energy-saving tips, visit http://www.ase.org/news/heat-%E2%80%93-energy-efficiency-can-curb-summer-energy-bills.

Many homeowners consider insulating their homes a chore that should be done to prepare for colder weather, not during the summer months. But, according to the ENERGY STAR web site, insulation keeps homes warm in the winter and cool in the summer. When correctly installed, insulation can deliver comfort and lower energy bills during both the hottest and coldest times of the year. So right now, with the scorching summer heat affecting much of the country, is actually the perfect time to install insulation.

To get the biggest savings, the easiest place to add insulation is usually in the attic, states the ENERGY STAR web site. Attics can get unbearably hot during the summer months which, in turn, affects the rooms in the home below and causes air conditioning units to run more. Installing reflective insulation in attics is an excellent way to prevent heat buildup—and the resulting increase in cooling costs—from occurring. To learn more about the benefits of reflective insulation, visit www.radiaflect.com.

Not sure what the weather has been like throughout other areas of the country, but here in Pennsylvania, it seems to have been an alternating mix of cool and warm weather – probably more cool weather than warm. No doubt, though, that the hot, humid weather of summer will be here within a month or so.

The reason I bring this up is this – if you have work or anything to do in the attic of your home, you may want to do it sooner than later because it won’t be long before that attic becomes too hot to be in. It takes just a cloudless day with the sun beating down on the roof. In fact, it can even be pleasant outside, but the sun can make your attic unbearable.

There’s a good way to keep that attic from becoming stifling hot – and that’s to have good reflective insulation installed in it. Of course, physically being in the attic isn’t the primary reason at all for keeping it cooler. The real reason lies beneath – the rooms in your home. A hot attic really does affect most of the house. Rooms become uncomfortably warm and the AC has to run constantly as it attempts to bring the temperature down. Now is the time to consider having good reflective insulation installed – before the summer weather really kicks in. A good web site to learn more about the benefits of reflective insulation is http://www.radiaflect.com/

Until consumers start researching windows when planning to replace their old ones, most aren’t aware of the possibilities of buying windows with “gas” between the panes. Yet gas-filled windows have more or less been the rage over the last several years. So, it’s not unusual to hear homeowners ask WHY do we want gas-filled windows?

Here’s basically what happened. Back in the 1970s and 80s, the window industry raced to see how wide a gap it could make between the panes of glass to improve the thermal efficiency of windows. Company A had ¼” thick glass, then company B developed 3/8” thick glass, so company A in turn released ½” thick glass… and the race was on.

All of these glass systems were produced with “dead” air space; just air that didn’t move. Then the labs began to notice an interesting side effect. Once the air space reached wider than roughly ½”, the air inside it began to move. It was no longer the “dead air” space that was required to improve a window’s thermal performance. In fact, the air movement inside these larger spaces actually began to draw heat out of the home rather than keeping it in! Companies found themselves asking, “What now?”

During those times, to achieve the best performance, sheet glass companies were also rushing to develop glass with very thin, practically invisible metallic coatings because the coatings worked well to reflect heat energy. This new coated glass was more expensive, but also pretty much worthless because the larger air gaps simply counteracted the thermal benefits of the coatings.

Long story short, industry professionals eventually realized that filling the air spaces with a gas heavier than air would stop the movement inside between the panes—and work better with the new glass coatings to greatly improve the thermal performance of double-pane and triple-glass windows.

There are three gas elements that are heavier than air and completely safe—and all naturally existent in the air we breathe. They are Argon, Krypton and SF6. Argon is the most common and abundant of the three. It’s also the easiest to extract, so it’s the least expensive. Krypton is more expensive than argon, but still a pretty affordable choice. SF6, however, is the least available gas of the three and thus is not a viable option.

Now window manufacturers have excellent solutions for homeowners—new Low-E-coated glass panes, combined with inert gases that are heavier than air and result in highly effective double- or triple-insulating glass systems. Windows now can achieve center-of-glass R-values in the range of 10—levels that were unheard of some years ago.

As it’s now the last month for the government’s big tax credit program, many homeowners will find, unfortunately, that it may be too late to purchase windows and receive the $1,500 tax credit. The two-year program ends December 31. For one thing, it takes some time to learn enough about windows to make an informed buying decision about something of this magnitude. Among other things, this kind of decision determines how a home will look, how safe and secure it will be, how much maintenance will be required and how energy-efficient and comfortable the home will be.

Not that it’s impossible to get new replacement windows by the end of the month, but time is also needed to manufacture the windows (most replacement windows are custom made to fit the opening of the old window), have them shipped and then have them installed. Compounding the situation is the reality that manufactures are already overbooked and working around the clock in most cases to fill existing orders. Window dealers and contractors are overbooked with window installation jobs. Most are not accepting new projects for 2010 completion.

Something homeowners may want to consider in regard to the expiring tax credit program is that it also applies to other energy-saving improvements – like attic insulation. For example, the new rising star in energy efficiency, reflective insulation, can be purchased immediately (it’s already manufactured and ready to be shipped) and installed quickly and fairly easily. Not that there’s not skill and expertise involved in installing reflective attic insulation, but installing insulation doesn’t require the same level of skill as a window installation. So some dealers and contractors have workers on staff who are not window installers -- but are skilled in installing insulation properly.

Reflective attic insulation is highly effective. It can reduce home energy costs by as much as 30%. (There are some excellent videos that explain the benefits and anticipated energy cost savings homeowners can get from reflective insulation. To see them, start at http://www.radiaflect.com/ ) Moreover, reflective insulation can be placed over existing fiberglass insulation on attic floors, working in tandem with existing insulation to improve a home’s energy efficiency. It can also be installed on un-insulated attic rafters for impressive energy-saving results. For more on the tax credit program as it relates to reflective insulation, visit http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=tax_credits.tx_index

There is much BUZZ today about new reflective foil insulation materials. In reality these have been around for years. Ever since the invention of aluminum foil in the 40’s we have been finding ways to use the versatile material. Low-E metallic glass coatings take their basic reflective characteristics from this early foil research. Industry has simply found a way to bring the reflective foil properties to a transparent level. All of this has lead to a rebirth of interest in heat reflective insulation wraps. The newest wraps are using far greener methods of production and adding new ideas to enhance their value. Some even use new foamed inner layers to add body and provide better service.

The questions now are, what is the best application of all the various types of insulation materials available? Should I use fiberglass, Cellulose, expanded foam, chopped glass, or a foil? Where should the insulation be applied? The answer lies in the use of a combination of all these materials. Their applications are dependant on the buildings construction and geographic location. Reflective foils do a wonderful job of reflecting radiated heat energy from the sun in the attics of homes located in southern climates. They can also be helpful to reflect radiated energy back in to a northern home. The key is that they must be installed properly to provide an air space on both sides of the foil. Keep in mind that the foil is metallic and so will act as a conductor of heat and electrical energy. Always follow the manufacturers instructions. Fiberglass, foams and wood fiber materials do an effective job at reducing conductive energy flow. So the best bet is to use both materials in harmony to both stop conductive energy loss and radiated energy gain in your homes envelope.

I installed a vent in my attic in August. That was an experience – I should’ve taken a thermometer up with me. It was unbelievably hot up there. Now that we've got cooler, less humid weather in Pennsylvania, being up in the attic is a lot more bearable. It fact, now's a good time to check your attic to see what insulation is up there – colder weather and heating bills aren’t far off.

While you're up there, think about adding reflective insulation. It's a very different kind of insulation (compared to blown-in or batt fiberglass) because it significantly reduces radiant heat transfer (fiberglass insulation only reduces convective and conductive heat transfer). In cold weather, reflective insulation placed over fiberglass insulation on your attic floor reflects heat escaping through the ceiling back into your home. If you have reflective insulation installed on your rafters, it reflects heat back into the home instead of allowing the heat to escape through the roof. Of course, it's really effective to have reflective insulation installed on both the rafters and the attic floor. Every home's different, but it's not uncommon to reduce home heating bill costs by 20% - 25%.

In spring and summer, the results are unbelievable, especially when you have reflective insulation installed on the rafters. With attic temperatures 30-40 degrees lower, you can only imagine the load this takes off your air conditioner!

One more thing: you don't want to procrastinate on adding good reflective insulation to your attic. It qualifies for the $1,500 federal tax credit (see www.radiaflect.com for more info) this year. One catch – it needs to be installed, not just purchased, before January 1st.