What You Should Know About Climate Control & Ventilation in Your Attic

Adequate roof ventilation can help you reduce your home energy costs, prolong the life of the shingles, and prevent roof rotting. Additionally, having adequate insulation can allow your Stafford, Texas, home to better retain heat. When you determine how your attic should be ventilated and insulated, you can create the interior climate control you desire.

Climate Control in the Attic

An attic can contribute to the greatest amount of heat loss in the house, so make sure it is sufficiently insulated. To determine whether you need to install more insulation, visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s website. You’ll find information to help you identify the R-value of the insulation.

The term R-value describes how resistant a material is to heat flow. The higher the material’s R-value, the greater the material’s ability to insulate. On the low end of the scale, loose-fill fiberglass insulation carries an R-value of 2.2 to 2.7 per inch of loose-fill thickness. On the higher end of the scale, spray polyurethane foam has an R-value between 5.6 to 6.3 per inch of foam thickness.

Achieving the desired R-value depends on both the insulation’s density and its depth. Where your home is located, how it’s heated, and whether you’re installing insulation into a new home or adding more insulation to a prebuilt home, are factors that will determine the R-value of the insulation you need.

A Word About Attic Ventilation

Attic fans or vents help to ventilate hot air trapped in the attic during the summer. You can buy a roof- or a gable-mounted vent at hardware and home improvement stores and have a contractor install it. You may also want to consider a whole-house fan that helps draw in cool air through the windows and expel hot air through a vent on the roof.

At Davis Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc., we help homeowners find solutions for their air conditioning, heating, and indoor air quality concerns. For more information about attic ventilation, call us at 888-710-5530.

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