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Does insulation keep your house warm or cold?
By insulating your home, you can experience not only warmer indoor temperatures but also sound reduction, lower energy bills and more. Insulation works by stopping the transfer of heat—meaning it helps keep warm air inside during the winter (and cool air inside during the warm months).
What is the purpose of insulation in the attic of a house?
Insulating your attic can help prevent air from escaping the house and stop outside air from coming in. Heating and cooling costs account for up to 50-70 percent of the energy used in an average home. This means that losing your home’s hot or cold air makes for a huge energy waste.
Will cooling my attic cool my house?
How Insulation Cools Your Attic. Insulation keeps the sun’s heat from radiating into the lower floors, meaning your home will be noticeably cooler. This means your AC won’t have to work quite as hard to maintain a cool internal temperature.
How do I keep my attic cool in summer and warm in winter?
If your attic has windows, be sure to block the sun in the summer with heavy drapes or light-reflecting blinds. In the winter, open up the drapes or blinds, and let solar heat warm up your attic. Ensure attic windows are property caulked and insulated to prevent drafts and loss of heat.
How do you insulate attic in hot climate?
There are two main types of insulation used in attics. In a hot climate zone like southern Arizona, for example, we typically recommend blown-in fiberglass and radiant barrier. Blown-in fiberglass insulation provides a dense, effective barrier against heat loss that is also among the greenest insulation options.
Do attics need to be insulated?
Your attic does much more for your home than storing your stuff. It is designed to provide a protective barrier for your home from cold, heat and humidity. But in order for the top area of your home to do its job, you need your attic properly insulated.
How much insulation should I add to my attic?
In Zone 1, the average minimum requirement for attic insulation is 9 inches of R30 fill. The average recommended level is 14 inches of R49. In Zone 2, the average minimum requirement for attic insulation is 9 inches of R30 fill.
How much insulation do you need for your attic?
The recommended level for most attics is to insulate to R-38 or about 10 to 14 inches, depending on insulation type. When adding additional insulation, you do not have to use the same type of insulation that currently exists in your attic.
How do you add insulation to your attic?
To add insulation to the attic floor, you will require enough blanket material to do the job, a heavy-duty shop vacuum, plastic sheeting for covering the blanket material that will insulate the attic opening, a heavy-duty staple gun, and utility scissors with long blades. You will also need a strong board to kneel on that will span the joists.
What is the recommended insulation depth for an attic?
In temperate coastal areas such as Zone 3, attic insulation of at least R30 up to a maximum of R60 is recommended. For loose-fill cellulose, this translates to a total depth ranging from 8 inches up to 16 inches.