The Home Insulators is an insulation company that installs open-cell and closed-cell spray foam, blown-in attic insulation, fiberglass batts, rigid foam board and air sealing in houses across the Tampa Bay counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco, from Tampa and Brandon to St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Wesley Chapel. Most of our projects run between $3,500 and $12,500. Find your county and town below, or ask for our free estimate.
Insulation in Tampa Bay is mostly an attic and air-conditioning job. Summers are long, and many houses have the air handler and ducts in the attic. So the work here starts with sealing the attic floor and setting the right depth, and in some houses it means bringing the attic inside the house with foam at the roof deck.
Tampa Bay housing in numbers
These figures, and the town figures below, are from the Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey.
Hillsborough County has 630,692 housing units and a median year built of 1991. 30.4% were built before 1980 and 62.5% before 2000. 56.9% of the units are detached houses and 6.5% are manufactured homes. 61.5% of occupied homes are lived in by their owners, 7.5% of units are vacant or seasonal, and electricity heats 90.7% of occupied homes.
Pinellas County has 520,107 housing units and a median year built of 1977. 58.8% were built before 1980 and 87.5% before 2000. 48.0% of the units are detached houses and 9.0% are manufactured homes. 69.5% of occupied homes are lived in by their owners, 17.6% of units are vacant or seasonal, and electricity heats 92.1% of occupied homes.
Pasco County has 271,844 housing units and a median year built of 1992. 28.2% were built before 1980 and 61.6% before 2000. 63.6% of the units are detached houses and 17.2% are manufactured homes. 75.7% of occupied homes are lived in by their owners, 13.1% of units are vacant or seasonal, and electricity heats 90.8% of occupied homes.
Pinellas has the oldest housing, Pasco has the highest shares of manufactured homes and of owner-occupied homes, and Pinellas has the most units that are vacant or seasonal. In every county electricity heats more than nine in ten occupied homes, so heating and cooling both run on the electric bill, and that bill decides which utility rebate a house can use. In Tampa Bay’s climate, the air conditioning is the load that matters.
Tampa Bay insulation contractors by county
Each county page covers its houses, electric companies and rebate details, and each town page carries that town’s own figures.
Hillsborough County
Tampa is the county seat. Tampa, Plant City and Temple Terrace are incorporated cities, while Brandon, Riverview, Carrollwood and Town ’n’ Country are unincorporated communities. Tampa Electric serves the county, and the bill settles it. Of the 5 Hillsborough towns with a page, Tampa has the largest share of housing built before 1940, 8.4%, and Riverview the largest share built since 2000, 70.7%. Apollo Beach, Ruskin, Seffner, Westchase, Carrollwood, Sun City Center, Temple Terrace, Town ’n’ Country and Valrico are covered on the county page. 5 towns have their own page:
Brandon · Lutz · Plant City · Riverview · Tampa
Pinellas County
Pinellas is a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay, and it is mostly built out. St. Petersburg is its largest city and Clearwater the county seat. Most Pinellas homes are on Duke Energy Florida; some, including Oldsmar, are on Tampa Electric. The bill settles it. Oldsmar, Gulfport, Belleair, Kenneth City, Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor, Seminole, Tarpon Springs and the beach towns such as St. Pete Beach are covered on the county page. 5 towns have their own page:
Clearwater · Dunedin · Largo · Pinellas Park · St. Petersburg
Pasco County
Pasco has long been a bedroom county for Tampa and St. Petersburg. Pasco homes are on Duke Energy Florida, Withlacoochee River Electric or Tampa Electric, so check the bill: Duke and Tampa Electric offer insulation rebates, and Withlacoochee River Electric does not list one. Wesley Chapel, the newest of the 3 towns with a page, has 73.0% of its housing built since 2000, and Holiday, covered on the county page, has 61.4% from the 1960s and 70s. Port Richey, Elfers, Bayonet Point, Hudson and Land O’ Lakes are covered there too. 3 towns have their own page:
New Port Richey · Wesley Chapel · Zephyrhills
The Tampa Bay houses we insulate, and where each one leaks
Bungalows and cottages of the 1920s through the 40s. Housing built before 1940 is 2.9% of Hillsborough County’s units, 3.5% of Pinellas County’s and 0.7% of Pasco County’s, and the 1940s add 1.8%, 2.7% and 0.5%. Many are wood-frame bungalows on piers, with an open, vented space under the floor and a shallow attic under a pitched roof. They leak at the tops of the walls, around the chimney and through the attic floor, and the floor over the open space is part of the envelope too. A house that still has knob-and-tube wiring needs an electrician’s say before insulation goes over it; Duke Energy’s attic rebate requires it to be certified not live by a Florida licensed electrician.
Block ranches of the 1950s through the 70s. The 1950s built 13.9% of Pinellas County’s housing, 2.0% of Pasco County’s and 5.9% of Hillsborough County’s, and the 1960s and 70s another 38.7%, 25.0% and 19.8%. This is the concrete-block ranch on a slab: stucco outside, furring and drywall inside, a shallow attic, and often a carport closed in as a Florida room under a flat roof with no attic at all. It leaks at the open top of the block wall, bath fans, the kitchen soffit chase, recessed lights, the hatch and the platform around the air handler. Duke Energy’s program page says insulation tends to settle over time, becoming thinner and less effective. The Florida Solar Energy Center puts the attic, including heat gains to the ducts, at 22% of the total cooling load in a typical 1,500-square-foot Central Florida home (2005), so the attic is where the first dollar goes. The walls are a remodel-time job, and our guide to insulating concrete block walls covers the options.
Subdivision houses of the 1980s and 90s. Those two decades built 32.1% of Hillsborough County’s housing, 28.7% of Pinellas County’s and 33.4% of Pasco County’s, and more than half of Safety Harbor (61.3%), Palm Harbor (60.6%) and Carrollwood (57.9%). They are block or frame houses under truss roofs, with a taller attic than a ranch and, in many, the air handler and ducts up in it. The U.S. Department of Energy says typical systems with ducts in attics or crawl spaces lose from 25% to 40% of the heating or cooling energy that passes through them (Building America, 2004). The leaks are recessed lights, the pull-down stair, the ceiling around the duct boots and bonus rooms over the garage. There are two answers: seal the ceiling and add depth, or bring the air handler and ducts inside with a sealed attic. Our guides to attic insulation in Florida and spray foam on the roof deck lay out the choice.
Houses built since 2000. 37.5% of Hillsborough County’s housing and 38.4% of Pasco County’s went up since 2000, against 12.5% of Pinellas County’s, and the share is 73.0% in Wesley Chapel, 70.7% in Riverview and 47.5% in Land O’ Lakes. Many are two-story frame-over-block houses, and the work in them is specific: the bonus room, the vaulted ceiling with little room for depth, the floor over the garage, the stair hatch. If a newer house is already tight and well insulated, we say so.
Manufactured homes. They are 6.5% of Hillsborough County’s housing units, 9.0% of Pinellas County’s and 17.2% of Pasco County’s, and 26.8% in Zephyrhills, 26.5% in Hudson and 26.1% in Largo. A manufactured home is framed and insulated differently from a site-built house, so each one starts with a look at the roof and under the floor, and the owner, or the park where the land is leased, decides what can change. Duke Energy’s attic rebate is closed to them: its rules say manufactured homes are not eligible.
Villas, condominiums and age-restricted communities. Where one roof and one attic cover several homes, the association’s documents say who owns them, and that owner decides. In Clearwater, 27.9% of the units are in buildings of 20 or more. In an age-restricted community such as Sun City Center, check the association’s rules before any work that touches the roof or exterior.
Waterfront and flood-zone houses. If your house is in a mapped flood zone, say so at the estimate: what can go below the flood line is a question for your building department and your insurer.
In every one of them we seal before we insulate. Insulation slows heat passing through a material, but air moving through a gap carries heat straight around it, and in Florida that air is humid too. The air sealing comes first, at the top of the block walls, around recessed lights and bath fans, at the kitchen soffit chase, the hatch or pull-down stair, the platform around the air handler and the openings around the duct boots, and then comes the depth. We seal ducts as well, but the air handler itself, replacing ducts and any other duct repair are work for a licensed air-conditioning contractor, and we will tell you what we see. If a quote specifies a depth of insulation and never mentions air sealing, it is half a job.
Spray foam insulation and everything else we install in Tampa Bay
We install open-cell and closed-cell spray foam, blown-in attic insulation in fiberglass or cellulose, fiberglass batts, rigid foam board and air sealing, and we also install radiant barrier, remove old insulation, clean up attics and seal ducts. Open-cell foam runs R-3.9 to R-4.2 per inch and closed-cell foam R-6.9 to R-7.1 per inch; our guide to open-cell and closed-cell foam explains where each fits, and another guide answers whether spray foam is safe. Blown-in insulation is the usual way to add depth on an attic floor, foam at the roof deck turns the attic into part of the house, and rigid foam board is one way to insulate a block wall when the drywall is off in a remodel.
Some attic jobs depend on the house, and some belong to another trade. We install a radiant barrier, take out old insulation and clean up attics. That includes cleaning up after rodents and taking out insulation they have soiled; trapping rodents or keeping them out belongs to a pest-control company. For air-handler work, replacing ducts and any other duct repair the right specialist is a licensed air-conditioning contractor; for roofing, a roofer; for wiring, an electrician; for termites, a pest-control company; for mold, a mold remediator.
Florida’s energy code, as of October 28, 2026
As of October 28, 2026, the code in force is the Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation, 8th Edition (2023), which the Florida Building Commission lists as effective December 31, 2023. It is a statewide code: counties do not write their own energy code. Florida’s 9th Edition (2026) code is scheduled to take effect December 31, 2026, although in the Commission’s October 2026 workplan its final rule hearing, filing and publication are still to be scheduled.
All three counties are in climate zone 2A. The code’s county table lists Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas as 2A and marks each as warm-humid. For new homes and additions, the 8th Edition’s prescriptive form, Form R402, asks for these in climate zone 2:
- Ceilings: R-38.
- Wood-frame walls and raised floors: R-13.
- Concrete-block (mass) walls: R-4 or R-6. R-6 applies where more than half of the insulation is on the interior of the wall, per the form’s footnote, and R-4 where most of it is outside the block.
- Slab and crawl-space walls: R-0.
- Ducts: R-8 for ducts of 3 inches and larger in an unconditioned attic, R-6 under 3 inches.
- Air leakage: a blower-door test at no more than 7 ACH50 on a new home, with the report going to the building official before the certificate of occupancy; a home that tests below 3 ACH50 must have whole-house mechanical ventilation.
Existing houses are treated differently. Florida’s energy code sets minimums for new homes and major renovations. Adding insulation to an existing attic is your choice; the code does not require it. The code applies to an existing building only if it is a “renovated building,” meaning work on insulation, HVAC, water heating or the envelope that costs more than 30% of the structure’s assessed value, or if it is a change of occupancy or newly conditioned space (section R101.4.2, as a non-binding interpretation from the Building Officials Association of Florida explains). Reroofing alone generally does not trigger a new insulation requirement under Florida’s energy code; your building department has the final word.
ENERGY STAR recommends R-49 in an uninsulated Zone 2 attic and R-38 on top of 3–4 inches, which is guidance for existing homes, separate from the code’s R-38 minimum for new homes.
Sealed attics are allowed under the Florida residential code, section R806.5, when conditions including these are met: the attic is completely inside the building thermal envelope and there is no Class I vapor retarder on the ceiling side. A state statute, section 553.9065, adds a route for new construction: at least R-20 air-impermeable insulation, a blower-door result under 3 ACH50, a positive-input ventilation system or a balanced or hybrid whole-house mechanical ventilation system, at least R-3 air-impermeable insulation on exposed rafters (with exceptions) and all indoor heating, cooling and ventilation equipment and ductwork inside the building thermal envelope. It is not a rule for retrofits. A December 2024 Florida Solar Energy Center review for the state found mixed results on moisture and energy use in sealed attics; the Florida research it found covered open-cell foam only, and the studies from hot-humid climates agreed that roof-wood moisture stayed at acceptable levels with open-cell foam on the roof sheathing. That is a finding about studies, not a promise for any one house.
None of the three counties is in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, which covers Miami-Dade and Broward only. Permit rules vary by county and city; ask your building department, or ask us when we quote. Florida requires termite protection on new homes, and foam should not touch the soil outside. Our Florida energy code guide goes through each line.
Tampa Electric and Duke Energy rebates, in short
Two electric companies run insulation rebates in the three counties, and the electric bill settles which one applies. If your electric bill says Tampa Electric, Tampa Electric’s ceiling insulation rebate applies; if it says Duke Energy, Duke’s attic insulation rebate applies. Withlacoochee River Electric does not list an insulation rebate, and neither does Peoples Gas. Both programs require electric whole-house cooling or electric heat and can be used once per house. The terms below are as the utilities stated them when they were checked on October 28, 2026.
Tampa Electric. Tampa Electric lists the rebate as “$0.16 per square foot per R-11 insulation installed.” An energy analyst inspects the attic first and, if ceiling insulation is recommended, gives the homeowner “a rebate certificate that is valid for one year and a list of approved contractors that can perform the installation.” The contractor deducts the rebate from the invoice, and the application is due within 90 days after the work is complete. The program rules Tampa Electric filed with the state call for at least R-11 added in R-11 steps and a finished attic of R-30 or more, or R-20 or more where spray foam is used.
Duke Energy Florida. Duke’s attic insulation rebate starts with Duke’s free Home Energy Check, completed within the last 24 months. For single-family homes Duke lists “$0.25 per square foot (up to $600)” to bring insulation from R-19 or less to a minimum of R-38, “$0.27 per square foot (up to $700)” from R-12 or less, and “$0.31 per square foot (up to $800)” for attics starting at R-2 or less, effective May 7, 2025. The existing insulation must average R-19 or less, manufactured homes are not eligible, and Duke says a homeowner “must use one of our pre-qualified contractors” to install the insulation. That contractor applies the rebate directly to the invoice.
Tampa Electric sends an analyst to inspect the attic first and hands you its list of approved contractors, and the rebate comes off the invoice of a contractor on that list; its page also allows owner-installed insulation. Duke Energy Florida’s attic rebate is paid only on work by a contractor on Duke’s pre-qualified list. So ask any installer, including us, whether they are on your utility’s list before you sign.
There is no federal homeowner tax credit for insulation installed in 2026. The IRS says the 25C credit is allowed for property “placed in service on or after Jan. 1, 2023, and before December 31, 2025,” and a contractor still advertising it is out of date; our insulation tax credit guide covers what 2025 work can still claim. Florida’s federally funded home energy rebates, HEEHR and HOMES, are not available: the state’s portal says the programs “are expected to launch in the future.” Our Tampa Electric and Duke Energy rebate guide has the full rules.
What insulation costs in Tampa Bay
Most of our projects run between $3,500 and $12,500. The house sets the number: the size and pitch of the attic, how much old fill is in the way, whether the air handler and ducts are up there, whether the answer is a deeper layer on the ceiling or foam at the roof deck, and what a two-story house adds, such as a bonus room or a vaulted ceiling. A wall job usually rides on a remodel. Our insulation cost guide and spray foam cost guide break down each kind of job.
Closed-cell foam costs more per inch than open-cell foam, mainly because it uses more material. ENERGY STAR’s modeled averages for Climate Zone 2 are 6% of total energy costs and 9% of heating and cooling costs, for sealing air leaks and adding insulation in a typical existing home, and ENERGY STAR says its estimated savings are higher in the North than in the South. In Tampa Bay we lead with comfort, humidity and the load on the air conditioner, not with a promise of savings.
Common questions about insulation in Tampa Bay
Do you install insulation everywhere in the three Tampa Bay counties?
Yes. We install spray foam, blown-in attic insulation, fiberglass batts, rigid foam board and air sealing across Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, and we also install radiant barrier, remove old insulation, clean up attics and seal ducts. 13 towns have their own page on our website, 5 in Hillsborough County, 5 in Pinellas County and 3 in Pasco County, and places without a page, such as Temple Terrace, Palm Harbor, Hudson, Oldsmar, Apollo Beach, Ruskin and Port Richey, are served the same way and covered on their county page.
How much does insulation cost in Tampa Bay?
Most of our projects run between $3,500 and $12,500. The house sets the price: the size and pitch of the attic, how much old insulation is in the way, whether the air handler and ducts are in the attic, and whether the answer is a deeper layer on the attic floor or foam at the roof deck. Closed-cell spray foam costs more per inch than open-cell foam or blown-in insulation. A written price follows our free estimate.
What R-value does Florida require for attic insulation?
For new homes, the prescriptive path of the Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation, 8th Edition (2023) calls for R-38 in the ceiling in climate zone 2, as of October 28, 2026. The code does not require an existing attic to be brought up to that level: it sets minimums for new homes and major renovations, and adding insulation to an existing attic is your choice. ENERGY STAR recommends R-49 in an uninsulated Zone 2 attic and R-38 on top of 3 to 4 inches of existing insulation, which is guidance, not code.
What climate zone are Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco in?
Climate zone 2A, in all three counties. As of October 28, 2026 the county table in the Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation lists Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas as 2A and marks each as warm-humid. Zone 2A is hot and humid, and the work in it is keeping heat and humid air out of a house that runs its air conditioning most of the year.
Are there insulation rebates in Tampa Bay?
Yes, from Tampa Electric and Duke Energy Florida; Withlacoochee River Electric does not list an insulation rebate. Your electric bill says which company serves you. If it says Tampa Electric, the Tampa Electric ceiling insulation rebate applies, listed at $0.16 per square foot per R-11 insulation installed after an attic inspection. If it says Duke Energy, the Duke Energy Florida attic insulation rebate applies, after a free Home Energy Check. Tampa Electric hands you its list of approved contractors, and Duke pays its rebate only on work by a contractor on its pre-qualified list, so ask any installer, including us, whether they are on your utility’s list before you sign.
Can insulation installed in 2026 get a federal tax credit?
No. There is no federal homeowner tax credit for insulation installed in 2026. The IRS says the 25C credit is allowed for property placed in service on or after Jan. 1, 2023, and before December 31, 2025, so a contractor still advertising it is out of date. Florida’s federally funded home energy rebates, HEEHR and HOMES, are not available either; the state’s portal says the programs are expected to launch in the future.
Should I seal the attic at the roof deck or insulate the attic floor?
It depends on where the air handler and ducts are. The U.S. Department of Energy says typical systems with ducts in attics or crawl spaces lose from 25% to 40% of the heating or cooling energy that passes through them, which is the main argument for a sealed attic: foam on the roof deck brings the equipment inside the house. If the ducts are not in the attic, sealing the ceiling and adding depth on the attic floor is the smaller job. As of October 28, 2026 the Florida residential code allows sealed attics under section R806.5 when its conditions are met, among them that the attic sits completely inside the building thermal envelope.
Is Florida changing its energy code?
Yes, on a schedule. As of October 28, 2026 the 8th Edition (2023) of the Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation has been in force since December 31, 2023, and the 9th Edition (2026) is scheduled to take effect December 31, 2026. The Florida Building Commission workplan for October 2026 still showed the final rule hearing and publication as to be scheduled, so the date could move. Until the final text is out we quote no 9th Edition values.
Free estimate in Tampa Bay
Our free estimate is our own visit, separate from Duke Energy’s Home Energy Check and from Tampa Electric’s attic inspection and no-cost energy audit, and it is not a route to a rebate. We start in the attic: the depth and condition of what is there, where the air handler and ducts sit, and every opening the air sealing has to close. In a ranch we look for a flat-roofed Florida room with no attic, in a villa or condominium for who owns the roof, and in every house for signs of moisture. You get the scope, the materials and depths, and the price in writing, with no obligation.
Call 914-554-2289 or use the contact form. Our Florida branch covers Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties. The Home Insulators is a family-owned company that has been insulating homes in the Northeast since 2015. Our own crew does the work and we never subcontract it.
Learn more
- Tampa Electric and Duke Energy insulation rebates
- Florida energy code insulation requirements (zone 2)
- Attic insulation in Florida: depth, type and lower AC bills
- Spray foam on the roof deck: sealed attics in Florida
- Radiant barrier in Tampa Bay: is it worth it?
- Insulating concrete block walls in Florida homes
- Is there still a tax credit for insulation?
- Every area we serve