A bit warm for you, is it?

Well, we've finally got our summer weather.  As if to thumb his nose on us, old man weather on the first day of summer finally decided to give us temperatures like we expect to get in the summer - 90 plus.

So I guess it was appropriate that we agreed to have someone over to our house for an "energy audit."  As expected it was a sales call masked like an "audit" thus giving us the impression that we're going to learn a little about better ways to save energy.  Indeed, after introducing himself and his credentials, he began asking about light bulbs, insulation, and size of A/C ducts, compressor, and ceiling fans.  Another 10 minutes of questions followed by a 20 minute tour of the house, which did actually include a peek into the attic, and the audit was complete.  His only serious recommendation: replace the incandescent lights above the bathroom mirrors.  

We then got down to the serious business of discussing what he was selling.  It turned out to be a sort of thermal blanket, maybe as much as 0.5 inches thick consisting of foil on each side and a moisture barrier in the middle. They are proposing that we cover all the ceiling joists with this blanket with the promised effect of 6 to 8 degrees lower household temperature in the summer.  A second proposal is to install a solar panel powered attic fan to keep the attic from exceeding the heat of the outside world.  And finally, they are proposing that they install a second air return for our A/C because we're literally smothering our air conditioning unit.

Although there is a possibility of some payback, it would be mainly in the form of tax credits - $1,500 was a number mentioned.  And we'd only have to spend $6,900 to do all the things they recommended.

Comments, anyone?