Targeted Treatment Can Solve Home Comfort Issues

Proper Insulation Treatment

Effective Insulation is Two Parts
Regardless of which material and application is used, insulation is not fully effective unless it is properly installed and fully aligned with a contiguous air barrier. Insulation works because it incorporates air pockets that resist the flow of heat, or slows the conduction of heat. This resistance to heat flow is measured by the R-value of the material. 

Most insulation  (with the exception of spray foam and rigid foam board) does not stop air flow.   Most cost effective insulation solutions require a separate air barrier or "skin" to stop the flow of air. For the air barrier itself to be effective, it must be contiguous and continuous across the entire building envelope, with all holes and cracks fully sealed, and it must be perfectly aligned with the insulation. 

You need both parts of the jacket to make it work the best.  The same goes for the insulation around the house.

Let's further examine this in terms of the two main heating and cooling seasons.

Temperatures in the attic during summer months can be between 150-160 degrees.  It is a brutal place with stifling air and high amount of humidity.  When an attic is not properly vented, air sealed and insulated the building heat and pressure in the attic forces radiant heat through the drywall and slowly, steadily and surely into the house.  

Consider this:

Homeowners that have a minimum insulation level in the attic equal to R-19, reflective roof shingles and proper ventilation can experience up to two-thirds less solar heat gain than those with characteristics such as little to no insulation, dark roofing shingles and no attic ventilation. 

Summer remedies for the attic include: proper ventilation intake, proper baffle installation, proper insulation levels, proper air sealing, rim joist/ crawl space air sealing and insulation.

In the winter, the heat runs warm air through ducts to increase the temperature inside.  As the temperature decreases outside the pressure in the house increases and it is a well known fact that warm air rises and when it does it gets pushed through cracks and crevices at the ceiling and other less well known areas known as exfiltration points.   For this issue it is critical to have air sealing completed so that the warm air that you are paying for has nowhere to go when it is cold outside!

Equally important to the warm home in winter is to have the right amount of insulation to prevent radiant heat from traveling from inside through the wall and into the attic or other areas of the home touching the outside.  By slowing the transfer of heat with insulation it helps to keep the inside (envelope) "bundled up" like the layers of a nice winter coat.

Winter Month Key Measures