Does Your Home Have Enough Attic Insulation?

Attic Insulation Installation Tulsa

When it comes to improving your home's efficiency, don't forget about the attic. Experts calculate that leaks in the attic floor can drain away 30 to 50 percent of your heating or cooling.Heat rises upward and migrates through cracks into the unconditioned attic space, eventually escaping through the roof or vents. In the summer, a hot attic and uninsulated attic floor can make it more difficult for you to cool your home, as heat moves through conductivity into the living space.What's the solution? In most cases, more attic insulation will do the trick.

Adding Insulation

Start your attic sealing project by identifying the various areas where energy is being lost. Lay wooden planks across joists to walk on before you start moving around.

1. Check for gaps around fixtures, pipes, wires, ducts and anything else that enters the attic space from the living space. Roll back existing insulation batts to get at all the holes; if you have loose-fill insulation, it might be better to get a professional to locate the leaks. Fix all the smaller leaks you find with caulk. For holes up to an inch wide, use expanding urethane foam. For still larger holes, use a piece of drywall to plug it, sealing edges with foam. You can also use fiberglass insulation.

2. Seal gaps around stove flues and chimneys with a sheet metal collar and heat-resistant caulk, separating these structures from insulation.

3. Put extra insulation on top of the attic hatch door. Place weather stripping around the edges of the hatch.

4. Next, check to see if the insulation on your attic floor reaches the top of the joists. If not, add more to the top or over the joists. Make sure it is evenly distributed, and reaches the sides of the attic.

5. Insulate behind knee walls.

6. Build airtight boxes with rigid foam insulation to cover recessed lighting canisters. Get professional advice about how any insulation you are considering might overheat when used in proximity to the lighting canisters.

To learn more about attic insulation, contact Air Assurance of Broken Arrow.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about attic insulation and other HVAC topics, call us at 918-217-8273. Credit/Copyright Attribution: “travellight/Shutterstock”

How to Tell If Your HVAC Insulation Is Working Properly

Attic insulation isn't the only kind of insulation you need. In order to maintain home efficiency, you need HVAC insulation as well. Specifically, insulation for your ductwork. Without proper insulation, hot air will gradually cool down and cold air will heat up as they make the journey through your ducts, losing a significant amount of energy by the time they reach your rooms. How can you tell if your HVAC insulation is working properly? Here are a few things to look for.

The Importance of HVAC Insulation

A significant portion of your ductwork goes through your attic. Your attic retains a lot of heat in summer and gets very cold in the winter. Your ducts need to be insulated against those temperature fluctuations. Without proper insulation, cold air from your AC will absorb the heat as it flows through the ducts in your attic. Likewise in winter, warm furnace air will grow colder.

This is the first major sign that your HVAC insulation isn't working the way it should: If the air flowing into your home isn't as hot or as cold as it should be, this means you're losing energy, and in turn, your system needs to run longer in order to heat or cool your home properly, which drives up your bill.

HVAC Insulation Damage

Another way to tell if your ductwork insulation is adequate is to check it for damage, such as tears in the duct wrapping. In some cases, damaged insulation can also cause blockage in your ductwork, which restricts the airflow. In other cases, damage might include moisture around the ducts or even mold growth.

If the damage is minor, the insulation can probably be fixed using metal or foil tape. If it's more extensive, you may need to have your ducts rewrapped with new insulation. If you have mold, you'll need a ductwork cleaning in addition to any repairs. Whatever the damage, talk to your HVAC technician to see what needs to be done.

For more help maintaining proper HVAC insulation in your home, contact us at Air Assurance. We strive for excellence in meeting Broken Arrow's home-comfort needs.