If you’re like most homeowners, you might use your unfinished attic for storage, but you don’t visit it often or give much thought to how well it’s insulated. You might be surprised to learn that the amount of insulation on your attic floor directly affects your day-to-day life and your household operating costs.
How Insulation Works
Here in Alabama, it’s extremely hot outdoors in the summer, and often too cool in the winter, so you rely on heating and cooling equipment to create a comfortable living environment inside your home. To do so, you have to work against the basic law of thermodynamics that heat energy wants to equalize, which means that heat is always trying to move in or out of your home. Insulation works by blocking the heat transfer that would otherwise occur between adjacent spaces where there’s a temperature difference – such as your home’s unfinished attic and your finished living area.
How Much Insulation Does Your Attic Need?
According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), homes in our climate zone can see the greatest boost in efficiency by insulating the attic floor to R-60. The DOE also recommends having ample roof and attic ventilation in place to let hot air escape and sealing any sources of air leakage between the attic and the rooms below.
When your attic is properly ventilated, sealed and insulated, you’ll find that:
- It’s easier to keep your home comfortable.
- You’ll save money on heating and cooling.
- Your HVAC equipment doesn’t have to work as hard, so it lasts longer.
- Structural components and your roof are better protected against deterioration from condensation.
Insulation Advice From an Experienced Roofing Company
In our humid climate, choosing the right type of attic insulation is crucial. Professionally-installed, blown-in fiberglass insulation like Owens Corning’s AttiCat® is highly recommended because:
- The installation process ensures that the material fills in small spaces and areas that are difficult or impossible to access when using batt or roll insulation.
- The material expands and fluffs up as it comes out of the blower machine, which creates millions of air pockets that provide an exceptional insulating effect.
- The fiberglass material doesn’t settle, so it retains its R-value and insulating ability over the long term.
To learn more about the benefits of insulating your home’s attic, contact us at Yellowhammer Roofing, your trusted roofing company and attic insulation specialist in the Athens area.
