Is Your Attic Insulation Adequate? | Stack Heating, Cooling

We have talked about the importance of adequate home insulation in previous posts, but when was the last time you gave any thought to your attic? Attic insulation plays a crucial role in your home’s comfort and energy efficiency throughout the year. Here’s a quick guide to determining whether or not your attic insulation is up to par.

• Assess your need
  If you’re not sure about the amount of insulation that you currently have within your attic, pop up there for a moment and take a look around. As a rule, you should not be able to see the floor joists beneath your attic insulation. It’s also a good idea to have your HVAC contractor evaluate your insulation’s current R-value, or level of thermal resistance, in order to help you determine how your insulation stacks up.
• How much to add
  Once you’ve determined that your attic could use more layers of insulation, you need to calculate how much more you’ll actually need. According to the U.S Department of Energy, an Ohio home with an uninsulated attic will require the addition of insulation with an R-value ranging between R-49 to R-60. If your attic already has 3 to 4 inches of insulation, additional insulating materials with an R-value of R-38 to R-49 will need to be added. You contractor will easily be able to help you add the correct amounts of insulation to your home’s attic.
• What type to use
  If you require extra attic insulation, you won’t necessarily need to use the same type of material that you already have in use. As an example, loose-fill materials can be used on top of fiberglass batts or blanket rolls, etc. Should you choose to utilize fiberglass over loose fill, be sure that the fiberglass doesn’t have any type of backing. Whenever you add loose fill, it’s a good idea to work with your contractor because you will need a blowing machine in order to apply it.

For more quality advice on attic insulation, contact the professionals at Stack Heating & Cooling. We’ve proudly been serving the Cleveland area since 1976.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Cleveland, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about attic insulation and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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