I have the cutest house. It's older/1935. People's ask about the utilities. I called Duke Energy for an estimate on avg bill. He said $152 a month! I never had tenant complain but that's high. All walls are up. Best way to insulate? Thx --174.193.xxx.xx

I'd leave it be if no one is complaining. I probably wouldn't offer that info either, because it's largely based on consumption. Each tenant will be different --174.201.xx.x

I agree 100% with NE --24.25.xxx.xxx

At the very least with a couple of tubes of caulking & possibly a can of low expansion spray foam, you could seal up some of the sources of air infiltration. --72.93.xxx.x

If you are serious (some have no clue) look at the blowinsulation on you tube, it takes planning every step of the way, each surface will have something specific - there is no silver bullet to insulate, get the hard material like baffles and rolled product beforehand at sale prices, then when the unit is empty you can go to it with the blower box and hoses and it will be very dusty - nearly impossible to do this with a tenant there unless on a 2 month holiday not coming back to get clothing or anything because all the furnishings we be wrapped in tarps in the middle of the rooms and the tenant will still find fluff inside something for the next 6-8 months, your ears will be ringing loudly until you replace them, Just do the planning now, have someone drop in and take a few pictures every 2-3 hours so you can show them at sale time, it will take a day to get all the fluff cleaned up, cabinets and windows washed for the next renter, just dump all the sweepings into the attic. --76.188.xxx.xx

It was common at some point that changed. I have same thing at a house. It's just what it is. Perhaps u can get quotes to insulate, i would not do it to sastify tenant request only as an improvement to the property and future benefits. --66.87.xx.xxx

You might also check with your city for weatherization programs. --66.188.xx.xxx

From what I've learned, most energy efficiency additions do not have an acceptable payback time. Many public utility companies and Govt have to subsidize them heavily like mine does or homeowners (read, people with long-term interest in saving $) will not do the upgrades. Reducing air infiltration has the best dollar for dollar payback. Windows are some of the worst. --173.19.xx.xxx

I know many landlords don't like trees because of the maintenance, but, again, right plant, right place helps with that. I plant /maintain trees at all of my properties. I cannot stand to be hot! --70.92.xxx.xxx

The home is 1049 sq ft, has 7 rooms ( 2 bd/1 bath, kitchen, L/R. laundry, mud room) All new windows in Feb 2017. I even had the kitchen redone in April 2017 but didn't think to insulate the outside wall. Exterior is vinyl siding and interior is sheet rock. The rooms have original ship lac walls' probably not much insulation there. It'shaded. A big tree in the front and one near the back room. Do you think $150 monthly avg is a lot? --108.64.xxx.xx

I'd put the money elsewhere, because soon enough you will have a repair that you wished you had that money for. --74.46.xx.xx

Best to insulate is break out all the walls then spray foam. Another option is break out then install rigid board then tape up joints tight so no air leaks. Third option is install rigid board outside then stucco or install siding. There are many videos on You Tube about installing installing insulation. Installing a high efficiency heat pump will use about half the power for heating or cooling. Electric heat is the most expensive heating system. --207.164.xxx.xxx

With no complaints, I'd let the sleeping dog....sleep. Richard nailed it: go with a contractor. I get a 1500 sf home insulated for around $1300. I think that's pretty cheap for what I get... --216.7.xxx.xxx

(said the landlord who didn't want to insulate) --74.96.xxx.xxx

HIRE AN ENERGY AUDITOR - CALL DUKE ENERGY FOR HELP --96.61.xx.xx

A energy efficient rental unit will bring a higher rent along with lower vacancy rate so over a period of time the upfront costs will be paid for. If they phase out coal fired generating power stations then the cost of electricity will go up. There are net zero buildings out there which do not require a heating or cooling system which are going to be the future. No one knows what the cost of electricity, natural gas or oil will be in five years from now. In a competitive rental market a rental unit with lower energy consumption is going to stand out along with will command a higher rent. Follow everyone else or go far and beyond other rental units. --184.147.xx.xxx

The last two months it's been empty the bill has been $58/mo. That's not having any power usage. So, I don't think $150 is out of line at all. --75.132.xxx.xx

I have a cute 1948 house here in NJ and I think the figure you got may be wrong. Did the "expert" specifiy that it was electric or gas? Do you have electric or gas heat? My worst bill from my Cute Cape Cod in January in NJ is usually about 250 and that includes gas heat and electric to run the heat, washer and dryer in basement and a water heater and the lights out front and the hall and basement. --73.33.xxx.xxx

Guys, I called Duke Energy for an assessment and was told that it's not being offered in my area. I got get with my neighbors and change this. --108.64.xxx.xx

Our current primary residence has really awesome insulation. It has old-fashioned insulation (like maybe from the 50's? the 70's? the 90's?) that's enclosed in plastic, and has been attached to the underside of the roof. So it leaves the floor of the attic bare; all the insulation is overhead. I don't know the term for it, or how much it costs to install. But I'd look into it and fiberglass before I ever gave a thought to repeating my experiment with blown-in cellulose. The one thing that is good about the cellulose is that it has some sort of boric acid fire retardant that the fiberglass batts generally seem to lack. --96.46.xxx.xx