Insulation & Loads

Air sealing, insulation, and the blower door numbers behind them — the measures that usually pay back before the first panel goes on the roof.

Insulation & Loads August 23, 2026 Blower Door Test Report: CFM50 vs ACH50 Explained A blower door report shows two numbers and only one came off the gauge. What volume, the one-point 1.1 factor, and your climate zone do to the other. 13 min read
Insulation & Loads August 18, 2026 Home Energy Audit: Insulation Before Solar Panels Solar quotes skip the measures that pay back sooner. Here is the federal rule that ranks them, and how to test one against your own gas and electric rates. 11 min read

About this section

Priya Raghunathan writes Kilowatt Ledger because three quotes for the same roof can produce three different payback figures, and the difference is always in assumptions nobody writes down. She does not work in the energy industry and has never sold, financed, or installed a system. Every number here is traced to a utility tariff sheet, a regulator's decision, or a published standard, and the arithmetic is written out so you can redo it on your own bill.

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Every guide cites the agency, statute, or document it was checked against, and carries the date it was checked. Rules change — if something here is out of date, tell us and it gets corrected.