Attic Insulation » how to lay insulation in the attic

Attic Radiant Barrier – Cut Heating and Cooling Bills

admin — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:58:27 +0000

In a house, most heat transfer takes place through the attic. Warmer air is constantly looking for a cooler spot to migrate to. So, in the summer, the warm air trapped in the attic will try to come into the house, making your air conditioner work harder, run longer hours, and give you a larger bill to pay. In the winter, the warm air you want to keep indoors will try to escape to the colder air outside through the attic. This increases heater usage and heating costs. There are many different ways to help reduce some of this heat transfer, making your home more energy efficient and comfortable in all seasons. In addition to installing sufficient insulation, energy efficient windows, sealing gaps, and weather stripping, attic radiant barriers are increasing in popularity because of the positive effects they have on reducing this heat transfer.

Radiant barrier insulation uses some type of reflective material, usually aluminum, which is coated and then attached on both sides to a substrate material, which can be made of paper or plastic. There is usually one shiny side and one dull side to the barrier, but that just comes from the manufacturing; it doesn’t matter which side faces up or down. When using this barrier, remember that the side facing the source of the heat can reflect anywhere from 95 to 98 percent of it. So, in the summer, much less heat is let through the attic into your house. Consequently, the side that faces away from the source of the heat only allows 2 to 5 percent of it through, so it will help keep the heat in your home during the winter. All barriers must face an open airspace, which can be as small as ¾” of an inch. It is the airspace and the radiant barrier working together that create the barrier to heat. If there is no airspace, the radiant barrier will not work as it should. Also, if there is a lot of dust in the region where the radiant barrier will be installed, it could cause issues, because the dust will reduce the barrier’s ability to reflect, thus making a barrier that is not as effective. There are solutions to this that a specialist can help consumers with. Some states and cities are adding radiant barriers to their energy and building codes, as well, to help with conserving energy.

There are many other uses for an attic radiant barrier. Anywhere in your home that has airspace available and needs help in cutting down on the amount of heat transfer, they can be used. Some people have attached them to the backs of their garage doors to reduce heat transfer there. Others have wrapped their water heaters or lined their pipes with radiant barriers, as well. Some have even lined crawl spaces with them. Reducing the amount of heat transfer in your home is as easy as installing these barriers anywhere that heat can sneak inside or escape to the outside. There are lots of different ceiling ideas to work the efficiency of your home.

How to Lay Attic Insulation

admin — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:22:27 +0000

Performing your own home remodeling can sometimes be dangerous and that’s why it is a good idea to learn the right information on how to lay attic insulation. It’s not exactly a difficult job and it can be done safely with no problems or injury if you know the proper rules to follow. You will want to always purchase unfaced fiber glass insulation that has no vapor retarder. When you are adding multiple layers to an existing blanket or maybe a loose fill insulation product, unfaced fiber glass will give you the best results. If for some reason the attic you are working in already has insulation but doesn’t have any vapor retarder, you will definitely want to make sure you have at least one square foot of free ventilated area for every 150 square feet of attic floor space.

You never want to use faced fiber glass when you are adding another layer to existing attic insulation. What you should use in this situation is unfaced fiber glass that does not have any vapor retarder. When you learn how to lay attic insulation, you’ll realize that the insulation facing acts like a vapor retarder and will help to lower the level of moisture that enters through a wall or any other surface. If you added a second vapor retarder over layers of faced insulation, any amount of moisture, no matter how small, that gets through the first layer will actually condense onto the second. Some damage to ceilings or walls will occur because of this condensation and the areas will be stained. If the condensation continues for a long period of time, then there may even be structural damage.

Any decent guide that tells you how to lay attic insulation should always cover the subject of radiant barriers. There are three main types of radiant barriers. Single layer film material, bubble film or multilayer, and then single films that are put directly on the underside of the sheathings on the roof, are the three most common types. However, you must know that radiant barriers are not actually insulation. In fact, they do not even have an r-value. The fact is that you can find radiant barrier products which actually use the concept of trapped air and that enables them to have an r-value, even though it will be very small.

Another interesting fact when learning how to lay attic insulation, is the difference between summer r-value and winter r-value. Summer r-value is actually the insulation rating when examining the heat flow in a downward direction. Winter r-value is when you examine the heat flowing upwards. Even though radiant barriers are sometimes used, it is almost always more cost effective and overall effective to simply use quality insulation products. Also, in truth, the actual heat flow which is resisted by radiant barriers is usually much less than what the manufacturers claim. Learning how to lay attic insulation is a skill that anyone can pick up as long as they learn the right methods that are safe and effective.

Attic Radiant Barrier – Cut Heating and Cooling Bills