As energy costs continue to rise, homeowners are beginning to pay more attention to their home's energy efficiency. And as stories of homeowners who have saved money through energy efficient upgrades multiply, more and more is being said about how these upgrades are improving their quality of life by making the home a more comfortable place to live.
The Benefits Of Insulating Your Attic
When a home energy analyst inspects a home for possible energy-saving upgrades, he or she will often begin with a visit to the attic. Generally speaking, a homeowner can expect to save up to 20% on heating and cooling bills simply through energy efficiency upgrades in the attic.
In especially snowy regions such as occur in the northern half of Ohio, a second benefit of attic insulation is evident. As heat escapes through a poorly insulated attic, the roof surface warms, causing snow on the roof to melt. But the melt water tends to re-freeze at the colder eaves of the house, forming a tell-tale ridge of accumulated ice known as an ice dam. When the ice dam grows high enough, it can force melt water back underneath the roof shingles, causing water to leak into the house. Ice dams can cause thousands of dollars of damage in a home, forcing homeowners to replace drywall, flooring and other materials.
By properly air-sealing and insulating the attic, ice dams can be minimized or even eliminated, protecting the home from the water damage.
Bringing Attic Insulation D.O.E.-Recommended Levels
While the attic is one of the major points of energy loss in Ohio homes, it is still very common to find attics within the state that have as little as an R-19 layer of insulation in the space, generally in the form fiberglass batts no more than 6 in. to 8 in. thick.
The US Department of Energy recommends that, in the Ohio area, attic insulation should be between R-49 and R-60. That’s equivalent to about a 16-in.-thick blanket of fiberglass insulation, to get close to the DOE’s R-49 recommendation.
Air-sealing Must Accompany Any Attic Insulation Upgrade
An experienced insulation contractor understands that any attic insulation upgrade should be preceded by air-sealing work to prevent heated air from the living space from leaking into the attic. Fibrous insulation like fiberglass batts, cellulose and blow-in. fiberglass will not stop air leakage. So the contractor needs to do this leak sealing before any new attic insulation is installed.
Air-sealing an attic is a challenging job. Special covers often need to be installed around “can” lights that extend into the attic. Existing insulation must be temporarily pulled out of the way to reveal air leaks such as holes for wires and plumbing vents, gaps between framing and drywall, and cracks around bathroom vent fans. Expanding spray foam, applied from disposable cans or larger, two-part application kits, is used for most air-sealing work.
Rigid Foam Insulation Offers an Alternative Attic Insulation Option
In recent years, many contractors in Ohio have begun to sidestep the challenges of standard attic air sealing and blow-in insulation upgrades. Instead of attempting to insulate the attic and air seal from the attic floor, many experts have decided to move the home’s thermal boundary up beneath the roof rafters. They do this by securing thick rigid foam insulation to the undersides of the rafters, and by applying rigid foam to the gable end framing. This technique offers the following advantages:
• When properly installed, the foam insulation boards provide a continuous layer of insulation that includes an air-vapor barrier and a radiant barrier. A separate air-sealing step is not required.
• The continuous vapor barrier provided by foam insulation boards offers a more complete air sea than attempting to seal the attic floor.
• With foam boards secured to the undersides of rafters, there’s no need the mess of blown-in fiberglass insulation that would otherwise litter the attic floor and eliminate the use of the attic for storage.
• Foam insulation is waterproof, inorganic, and not vulnerable to compression the way that blown fiberglass is.
• Some foam insulation products for attics now include a radiant heat barrier on the visible surface, providing the homeowner with even more energy savings.
We predict that in the coming years, this new method of attic insulation will become the industry standard, replacing blown fiberglass attic insulation methods entirely.
Dr. Energy Saver Cleveland is your trusted insulation contractor in Parma, and all surrounding areas including Akron and Canton, OH! Contact them by phone or e-mail today for a free estimate for attic insulation!
by: Jacques Bouchard
Twinsburg, OH – Dr. Energy Saver® Cleveland is a donation reception center for Toys for Tots this holiday season, as part of their dual-action campaign coined as the “Energy Elves Are Coming to Town.”
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