According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the state of your attic can greatly impact the health and efficiency of your entire home. Make your home safer, healthier, and more comfortable, while simultaneously lowering your monthly bills by adding solar ventilation and attic insulation.
“How do I know whether my attic is healthy?”
To determine the health of your attic, ask yourself the following questions. (yellowbluetech.com)
- Are there rooms in your home that are draftier than others?
- Do you have uneven temperatures throughout your home?
- Are there water stains on your ceiling?
- Do you have moisture problems throughout your home or in your attic?
- Does your heater or air conditioner cycle on and off too often?
- Do you have insects or animals in your attic?
- Does dust seem to accumulate quickly in your home?
- Is your house too dry in the winter?
- Does the insulation in your attic contain asbestos?
- Are your energy bills too high?
If your answer to any of these questions is “yes,” your attic's insulation and ventilation may not be as healthy and efficient as they should be. Any of these problems could be exacting a toll on your health and safety in addition to running up your monthly bills and creating an uncomfortable environment in your home.
A couple of great solutions to improve the overall health of your attic and, consequently, your home are adding quality insulation and solar ventilation.
Solar Ventilation
This type of ventilation is highly energy efficient because it is fully powered by the sun and doesn't require electricity to run. This means these systems are FREE to operate! A solar fan is installed on the roof, connecting to the attic. The fan expels the heat from inside the attic to the outdoors to lower the indoor temperature of the entire home. These types of fans are useful not only in the warm months, but in the cold months as well.
Many people don’t think about how much damage heat and moisture can cause in both the summer and the winter. Since heat rises, a lot of the heat inside your home in the winter will rise to the attic. If you don’t have a sufficient ventilation system in place, this heat will accumulate inside the attic and can produce moisture, which then can lead to many serious problems: ice dams, roof leaks, mold, mildew, damaged insulation, and even rotting. A solar ventilation system will expel heat so it doesn’t accumulate in the attic and cause these issues. Instead, it will work to equalize the indoor and outdoor temperatures, keeping your attic cool and dry.
Blown-In Insulation
If you don’t have sufficient insulation in your attic, you may run into several issues. First, older insulation often contains asbestos. Have the insulation in your attic tested to determine whether or not yours does. Second, if you don’t have enough insulation, or if it is old, worn out, inefficient, or damaged, warm air can seep into your attic from below. This warm air will make your attic humid, which can produce condensation. This warm air could also reach your roof and cause major problems; melting snow and ice in the winter could leak into your home or form ice dams at the edge.
Blow-in insulation can fill gaps in your attic in hard-to-cover area and hard-to-reach spaces. Sealing all air leaks in the attic floor is the best way to prevent the warm air inside the house from reaching your roof. Blown-in insulation is also water resistant and environmentally friendly.
Blow-In Insulation & Solar Ventilation in Ames, Huxley, & Ankeny
If you don’t know whether your insulation is sufficient, contact Hedrick Construction in Huxley. We install high quality, energy-efficient blown-in Atticat Insulation from Owens Corning. We also install solar-powered ventilation fans from Yellowblue, as well as quality ventilation systems from Lomanco.
To learn more, search our blog for various posts on the importance of good insulation and ventilation in the home. If you have any questions about these topics or roofing, siding, or window installation, give us a call, or fill out our quick online form, and we’ll contact you soon!
Comments