Your attic plays a major role in the comfort of your home, even if you don’t think about it regularly. That small, tight space is actually a powerhouse when it comes to temperature control and energy transfer! While it might be the home of your holiday decorations or boxes of old clothes, your attic is working quietly behind the scenes to protect your home and your family.
However, your attic needs proper support to do this job properly! This is where your attic insulation comes into play. If you have been in your attic space in the summer season and have been shocked at how hot it is, or if your home is starting to struggle with temperature regulation, it might be due to improper insulation.
If you typically associate insulation with staying warm, you might be wondering, “how does adding more insulation to attics help keep them cool?” Let’s dive into the details around attic insulation and what it really does for your home below.
To start, it’s important to know how attic insulation works in the first place. Insulation material varies from fiberglass to cellulose, but each insulation solution works similarly by slowing down energy transfer around your home. As heat passes through the material, it gets caught, preventing it from circulating and rising too fast.
This process works in a controlled manner alongside your HVAC system to protect the comfort of your living spaces. Once the air has warmed considerably, it will eventually rise into your attic space. Your attic insulation then carefully circulates this air out of your home with the help of your vents or attic fans.
This entire process is crucial to the comfort and safety of your home. Without enough attic insulation, the air in your home will be completely controlled. As your HVAC system produces conditioned air, it will circulate unevenly through your living spaces and will run rampant through your house. It will rise too quickly into your attic space and escape without having any real impact.
In response, your HVAC system will have to work harder to keep you comfortable, which puts an unnecessary strain on your entire system.
In addition to strained HVAC equipment, improper attic insulation can lead to:
All of these issues can be impactful not only to your wallet, but also to the safety of your home. Unchecked moisture issues can lead to mold infestations, wood rot, pest issues, and excessive heat buildup in your attic space.
The good news is that adding more attic insulation can directly impact the health and functionality of your attic (and your home as a whole). Adding the right amount of insulation in your attic can have drastic cooling benefits.
The right insulation will slow down your home’s heat transfer process, helping move that excessive heat out of your attic the right way. It will cool down your attic space while also helping cool down your living spaces.
When won’t adding attic insulation help?
When your ventilation system in your attic is poor. Your attic insulation can only do so much if your vents or attic fans aren’t working the way they should. Without proper ventilation, that heat has nowhere productive to go, and it can become stagnant once again in your attic.
Thankfully, if your attic doesn’t have the insulation it needs, your home will start to give you signs. Some of these signs below should prompt you to perform an evaluation of your attic insulation.
The first indication that something is wrong is if your rooms are uncomfortably hot even when your air conditioner is working. This means that you have an overly warm attic space that is leaking hot air back into your home.
If you go into your attic space to check on your insulation, it should be uniform across your walls and floor. If you have spots that are missing insulation entirely or sections where it is thinner than it should be, your attic is struggling to maintain its consistent temperature.
Pay attention to your energy bills! If yours starts to climb without a clear cause or if you open it up one day and are shocked at the cost, you might have an attic insulation problem. Attics that are too hot will overrun your air conditioner, causing extensive energy use.
If any of these problems are happening to you, it’s time to add some more attic insulation. However, this can be a tricky process if you aren’t careful! Attic insulation, ventilation, and air sealing are all important aspects of a healthy attic, and each of these systems needs attention during your insulation upgrade process.
The best way to do this is to hire the help of an attic insulation installation team. They will perform a full evaluation of your attic to determine the perfect solution to your insulation woes. In addition, they will check your attic space for air leaks and will make sure your ventilation system is working properly.
Insulation is a powerful tool if it is used properly, which is why relying on a fully trained and licensed insulation team is essential for your success. Let the team at Master Attic help add insulation to your attic so it will stay cool and protect your living spaces as well.
Dealing with a hot attic or uneven temperatures in your home? Call the team at Master Attic today at (800) 285-4009 to schedule your FREE evaluation.
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