| Installing attic insulation is an important part of any | | | | different areas of the country. You can visit to |
| effort to make your home more efficient. Attic | | | | see a map of climate zones with recommended R |
| insulation does two things to increase energy | | | | values. These recommendations can provide a |
| efficiency. In the winter it keeps the warm air in | | | | good baseline for what your home needs, but |
| your home from rising into your cold attic. This is | | | | many experts feel that these government |
| a very important function as warm air naturally | | | | estimates are too low and that homeowners who |
| rises and without any insulation you will have a | | | | go above the recommended R value for their |
| hard time keeping your house warm on cold | | | | climate zone still see significant energy savings. |
| winter nights. Secondly attic insulation helps keep | | | | Understand how attic insulation works is also |
| the hot air that fills up your attic in the summer | | | | important for figuring out if you need more attic |
| from pushing down into your house. On a recent | | | | insulation, it works on much the same principle as |
| early summer day here in Austin Texas one of | | | | a down sleeping bag. it traps little pockets of air |
| our insulation installers measured the air | | | | that then form an air barrier between the inside |
| temperature inside the attic to be 156 degrees. | | | | and outside temperatures. These pockets of |
| Even a little bit of hot air of that temperature | | | | trapped air are not allowed to move freely, |
| making its way into your house can drastically | | | | preventing them from cycling through the |
| increase the cost of cooling your home. | | | | insulation and transferring heat across it. This is |
| The most important thing when installing attic | | | | important because, much like a sleeping bag, |
| insulation is getting good coverage of all areas. | | | | insulation that has been pressed down, trampled, |
| Having holes or gaps in your insulation will | | | | or otherwise de-fluffed will not be as effective. |
| drastically reduce its effectiveness. This is why | | | | As insulation settles and gets pressed down the |
| many people prefer to have professionally | | | | pockets of air get pressed out dramatically |
| installed blow in insulation in their attics instead of | | | | reducing its effectiveness. |
| using the batts or blankets that you can do | | | | This is why it is particularly important for owners |
| yourself. Batts do offer a little bit better insulation | | | | of older homes to increase their attic insulation, |
| per inch of thickness, but they are much harder | | | | while they may have had adequate insulation |
| to get complete coverage with. Blown insulation | | | | when they were first built, over time their R |
| can be blown into all the corners and crevices in | | | | value has decreased. Moisture getting into your |
| your attic to make sure you don't have any gaps | | | | insulation can also rapidly reduce its R value by |
| or leaks and usually costs less to install both in | | | | weighing it down and making it less fluffy. You can |
| material and labor costs. | | | | tell whether or not your attic insulation has lost R |
| Attic insulation is measured in R values. R value is | | | | value by looking in your attic and seeing if it still |
| a measure of thermal resistance, but all you need | | | | looks relatively fluffy or not. If it is matted down |
| to know is the higher the number the better the | | | | and trampled it is time to replace or add more |
| insulation. The government has published | | | | insulation. |
| recommended R values for attic insulation in | | | | |