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Installing sun screen blinds or solar shades can help lower your electric bills by helping reduce the amount of sun light coming into the home. You can see through this fabric and at the same time while blocking out the harmful Arizona UV rays. Advantages of installing sunscreens are:  Block out 70%, 80%, or 90% of the sun’s damaging UV rays; Reduce temperature in rooms by as much as 20 degrees; Lower your electric bill; Provide privacy from outside, similar visibility from inside; Custom made to fit your existing windows.

Sunscreens are made of a see through mesh. It is woven tight enough to block a lot of heat and UV rays but open enough to give you a view. When it comes to the solar shade, the openness of the fabric comes first. The lower the number, the harder it is to see out of. The tighter the weave, the less view but ,more protection from the heat and cold. The more open, the better the view.

These products are custom made for you.

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 Phoenix Commercial Energy Audits • Gilbert Commercial Energy Audits • Mesa Commercial Energy Audits • Paradise Valley Commercial Energy Audits • Scottsdale Commercial Energy Audits • Tempe Commercial Energy Audits • Surprise Commercial Energy Audits • Sun City West Commercial Energy Audits • Chandler Commercial Energy Audits • Tucons Commercial Energy Audits • Oro Valley Commercial Energy Audits

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Radiant Barrier – Phoenix & Tucson

Arizona Energy Pros is Phoenix and Tucson’s best Radiant Barrier Installer. We install only the best radiant barrier products for your home.

 A Radiant Barrier is usually installed in attic homes. It is primarily used to reduce the impact of the sun and the summer heat. Radiant barrier can help keep your home cooler in the summer and lower the air conditioning use, therefor lowering your electric bill.

Radiant barriers is produced from highly reflective material that re-emits the radiant heat away from the home. They do not have any affect on reducing heat conduction; the way insulation does.

How Does Radiant Barrier Work?

A radiant barrier’s performance is determined by three factors:

• Emissivity (or emittance) – the ratio of the radiant energy (heat) leaving (being emitted by) a surface to that of a black body at the same temperature and with the same area. It’s expressed as a number a between 0 and 1. The higher the number, the greater the emitted radiation.
• Reflectivity (or reflectance) – a measure of how much radiant heat is reflected by a material. It’s also expressed as a number between 0 and 1 (sometimes, it is given as a percentage between 0 and 100%). The higher the number, the greater the reflectivity.
• The angle the incident radiation strikes the surface—a right angle (perpendicular) usually works best.

Radiant barriers are more effective in hot climates, like Phoenix and Tucson. Some studies show that radiant barriers can lower cooling costs between 5%–10% when used in a warm, sunny climate. The reduced heat gain may even allow for a smaller air conditioning system. But in cool climates, it’s usually more cost effective to install more than the minimum recommended level of insulation rather than a radiant barrier.

Phoenix Radiant Barrier • Gilbert Radiant Barrier • Mesa Radiant Barrier • Paradise Valley Radiant Barrier • Scottsdale Radiant Barrier • Tempe Radiant Barrier • Surprise Radiant Barrier • Sun City West Radiant Barrier • Chandler Radiant Barrier • Tucons Radiant Barrier • Oro Valley Radiant Barrier

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Getting an Energy Audit is the best way to find leaks in the home

Small air leaks in attic space, ceiling and walls are a major source of heat loss in many homes.

Sealing Leaks

• Seal air leaks throughout the home to stop drafts,
• Add insulation to block heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer,
• Choose ENERGY STAR qualified windows when replacing windows.

Many air leaks and drafts are hard to find because they are invisible to the naked eye — like those in the ceiling or in crevices in the walls. Holes hidden in attics, basements, and crawlspaces can lead to wasted electricity and higher utility bills. Sealing these leaks with caulk, spray foam, or weather stripping will have a great impact on improving your comfort and reducing utility bills.

Sealing your house too tightly is not recommended either.  A certain amount of fresh air is needed for good indoor air quality and there are specifications that set the minimum amount of fresh air needed for a house.

Sealing and 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. ENERGY STAR estimates that a knowledgeable homeowner or skilled contractor can save up to 20% on heating and cooling costs (or up to 10% on their total annual energy bill) by sealing and insulating.

To Seal and Insulate with ENERGY STAR: Schedule an Energy Audit call 480-420-7869 or Click Here to choose your day and time.

Plug the Big Holes First

Don’t worry about finding and sealing all the little holes in your attic; your biggest savings will come from plugging the large ones. Once in the attic, refer to your sketch to locate the areas where leakage is likely to be greatest: where walls (inner and outer) meet the attic floor, dropped soffits (dropped-ceiling areas), and behind or under attic kneewalls.

Look for dirty insulation — this indicates that air is moving through it. Dropped soffits may be filled or covered with insulation and hard to see. Push back the insulation and scoop it out of the soffits. You will place this insulation back over the soffit once the stud cavities have been plugged and the soffits covered.

If You Have a Finished Attic, Seal Behind the Knee Walls

Finished rooms built into attics often have open cavities in the floor framing under the side-walls or kneewalls. Even though insulation may be piled against or stuffed into these spaces, they can still leak air. Again, look for signs of dirty insulation to indicate air is moving through. You need to plug these cavities in order to stop air from traveling under the floor of the finished space.

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Lowering Your Energy Costs in Arizona

Arizona Energy Pros specializes in reducing your electric bills.  We do this though properly installed insulation products & attic ventilation. Arizona Energy Pros will reduce your overall energy consumption, therefore dramatically lowering your monthly bill.

How do I know if I need more insulation?

Sometime more insulation is necessary, but without an energy audit you could be playing guessing games. We recommend a consultation to see what’s really happening in your attic. You may find that a simple insulation tune-up, may do the trick. An insulation tune-up is a readjustment of your current insulation.

Do I have proper Attic Ventilation?

Is poor ventilation in your attic contributing to your out-of-control energy costs? Learn about the role attic ventilation plays in heating and cooling your home and how adequate ventilation, combined with a radiant barrier system, could dramatically lower your bills.

What Does Proper Insulation Look Like?

There are several reasons why insulation usually underperforms in real world applications. The most common are misalignments, bridged areas at soffits or arches, compressed batts or improperly blown in cellulose, and blowback caused by wind at the eves of a home. At first glance everything may look fine but take a closer look – these areas are hard to spot without some digging. Insulation, in order to be most effective, MUST be in contact with the surface that faces the conditioned space. Any gaps or voids allow hot attic air to migrate past and transfer heat to the conditioned space via conduction. Remember that insulation only slows heat transfer, NOT air movement. If the air gets past, it brings heat with it.

Insulation works by providing a continuous boundary of the “building envelope,” between conditioned indoor spaces and unconditioned outdoor spaces. Low levels of insulation, plus gaps and voids in the insulation materials can provide pathways for heat and air to easily flow into or out of a home. Approximately 40 percent of feeling physically comfortable is due to radiant heat exchange between our bodies and the surrounding interior surfaces. Increasing insulation reduces this radiant heat exchange, maintaining a more consistent level of comfort throughout a house.

Will insulation help to lower my utility bills?

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Building Technology’s number one recommendation to help consumers reduce energy bills is by adding insulation. Most homes in the United States are not well insulated. Older homes are particularly vulnerable, leading to high heating and air-conditioning bills. Having an energy efficient home starts with proper levels of insulation. When homes are adequately insulated, it takes less energy to heat and cool them than if they were poorly insulated. Insulation in your walls and attic keep the living space conditioned and allow your Heating and/or Air Conditioning source to run more efficiently, thus reducing your energy consumption.

Will getting more insulation make my home more comfortable?

Is your home cold in the winter and hot in the summer? Is the temperature upstairs between 8 to 12 degrees different from the temperature downstairs? Insulating your home will help keep your living space or “Comfort Zone” consistent throughout your home. This makes for a more comfortable living space throughout your home.

Can insulation increase my home resale value?

Installing proper insulation levels can also make your home more attractive to potential buyers. 86% of Americans would choose one home over another based on its energy efficiency. (Energy Pulse Survey, 2006)

But doesn’t my house already have insulation?

It probably doesn’t have enough. In much of the housing in America, attic insulation levels are inadequate at best. That’s because many homebuilders only offer standard (not optimal) levels of attic insulation, in order to maintain competitive selling prices. Obviously, the older the home, the less likely it is to have adequate attic insulation. But even in a newer home, additional attic insulation will save enough money in reduced utility bills to pay for itself, and those savings will, of course, continue year after year. Upgraded attic insulation will also increase the value of your house.

If you can see the top edge of the rafters, you are way under insulated

In a typical home you commonly see several of these problems in varying degrees. Any combination of these problems can have a dramatic effect on the overall home efficiency. The typical home here in the valley has R-30 worth of insulation; however, if JUST 5% of the total insulated area has defects, the R-value can be reduced by up to 50%, bringing the actual R-value of a home to R-15! Heat gain through attics can affect the home in ways that can drive up the cooling costs considerably, especially during summer. It can also make individual rooms hotter than others. Take your time and check all areas carefully because a small inconsistency can cause big problems. Take advantage of a promotion we are running that will help you determine how effective your current insulation is.

Insulation is the most requested energy improvement by our customers. On an existing home, we recommend blown in insulation to fill the gaps where your insulation has over time lost its effectiveness and overall R-value. In the Southwest, especially in Arizona, Radiant Barrier is a great product to add on top of your existing insulation (especially if your insulation material is older) making the combination a better investment and overall R-value more stable over time.

What Types of Insulation is there?

There are some four main types of insulation: spray foam, loose fill, batts and blankets, and rigid board insulation. Your selection will be based on what type of construction, as well as code requirements, and whether its a pre existing home, or a new construction build.

Spray foam insulation is made up of two-part liquid containing a polymer (such as polyurethane or urethane) and of course, a foaming agent. It is applied through a nozzle into the cavity of the wall, ceiling, or floor. As it is sprayed, it then it expands into a solid pourous plastic with literally millions of tiny air-filled cells that then fills the applied space, while compensating for areas not otherwise possible with other insulation types.

Cellulose fiber is composed of recycled newspapers and is chemically treated to be fire and moisture resistant. (It is necessary to check that the bags are clearly labeled to show that the material meets federal prerequisites for fire resistance). By employing a dry-pack or moist-spray process, cellulose fiber can be installed in walls, floors, or attics.

Batt and blanket insulation consists of mineral fiber (either processed fiberglass or rock wool) and is utilized to insulate below floors, above ceilings, and inside walls. Usually, batt insulation is the most economical wall insulation material but demands meticulous installation for proper performance.
This kind of insulation is ideal for a standard joist, rafter, or stud spacing of 16 or 24 inches. Batts and blankets come in widths to firmly fit between the wood-framing members; some include a radiant barrier backing. Batts normally come in lengths of 4 or 8 feet. Blankets come in long rolls that are cut to the specified length for installation. Both batts and blankets typically have an R-value of around R-3 per inch of thickness.

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4 Easy Ways To Save Money On Your Electric Bill

Arizona Solar Pros manages everything you need to reduce your electric bill and power your home with solar energy. We offer everything from LOW COST energy efficiency solutions to high-end solar systems. We can help you finance or lease your solar installation. Here are the steps to get started.

1) – Get an Energy Audit!

For just $99, the APS and SRP Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® inspection will identify improvements that can increase your indoor comfort and decrease energy costs. In most cases, minor repairs and improvements can increase your efficiency by as much as 20%!

Every home is unique and solar technology does not make sense for everyone. In order to determine if solar makes sense for your home, an Energy Consultant will meet with you to understand your energy needs and financial goals; collect 12 months of energy bills to determine how much energy your home is using; find out how much space is available to deploy solar. Finally, many of the incentives are tax based; so we will need to understand your tax situation.

Call 480-420-7869 to set up a home performance checkup.

2) - Energy Efficiency Upgrades

Once all of the information has been collected, Arizona Energy Pros we will prepare a complete energy analysis of your home, including annual cost savings & payback calculations. We will also identify the rebates, tax credits, grants, and depreciation that significantly decreases the net cost of your energy efficiency installation. Below is a list of energy efficiency upgrades you can do to your home:

• Solar Hot Water Heaters
• Duct Seal
• Seal Plenum and Insulate
• Air Seal – infiltration and air barrier seal
• Attic Hatch Seal and Insulate
• Pass Through Vent
• Jumper Ducts
• Insulation Tune-up
• Blown Insulation
• Batt Insulation
• Radiant Barrier
• Window Sun Screens
• Variable Speed Pool Pump
• Solar Hot Water Heater System
• Solar Attic Fan

Call 480-420-7869 to talk to an energy expert.

3) - Purchase a Solar System

A high quality solar system starts with good design. Our engineering team will custom design your solar power system based on your facility’s architecture, and electrical needs. Arizona Solar Pros will work with the solar equipment manufacturers with the latest technology to design high performance solar systems. The design process includes:

• An in depth engineering and logistical analysis.
• Electrical design.
• Structural analysis and design if needed.
• Drawing submission to the permitting authorities.
• Drawing submission to the utility for approval.

We have some of the most competitive prices in the state. Call 480-420-7869 for an energy audit or for a free solar quote.

4) - Lease a Solar System

A Solar Lease with Arizona Energy Pros is a great way to get a solar system with little or no upfront cost. You can gain energy independence, reduce your monthly utility bills and protect yourself from rising energy rates. Solar Leases are smart and affordable. Solar leasing benefits include:

• No Monthly Payments
• No Annual Payments
• Fully Insured
• Full Warranty
• Eligible for a government grant
• Eligible for a utility rebate

You can enjoy the benefits of Energy Independence too. Call now at 480-420-7869 for a free solar quote or to set up an audit.

PROCUREMENT AND INSTALLATION

Arizona Solar Pros professional installation teams will install your system to our high standards. Lead times vary greatly depending on the technology that we will be using, but typically range from 4-12 weeks depending on the size and complexity of your system. We will work closely with you to ensure you understand all the steps along the way. Our project managers oversee all the building permits, inspections and connections to the utility grid.