Best Way To Insulate Attic In Hot Climate

Radiant barrier a radiant barrier is a material used in conjunction with attic insulation to reflect radiant heat at the surface and increase the efficiency of attic insulation.

Best way to insulate attic in hot climate.

Common practice in some areas still has it pegged at r 19. Hope the middle climate zones are tough because you have to split the difference between insulation techniques. A machine blows loose fill into the spaces filling each corner in the wall and floors to apply in every corner. Check out my other post insulation for a hot climate for some ideas for the other side of the coin.

The most important factor to consider in a warmer climate is the addition of a radiant barrier to whichever type of insulation you select. While just adding more insulation to the building doesn t necessarily get great improvements in efficiency adding insulation to the right locations does. Because the simplest and cheapest way to insulate an attic is to add material to the floor. But if the floor is covered in plywood you can t stuff enough insulation beneath it to do the job sufficiently not even in warm climates.

Reverse stack effect in hot weather will create a highway of hot air from your attic into the house especially the upstairs. One of the best things you can do is to move the attic insulation so that the air conditioning ducts are inside the insulated envelope. Plan to pull up the flooring and layer new insulation on top of the old. It is a great option for attic walls and floors.

You can use products like radiant barrier on the underside of the roof spray foam or even good old fashioned batts of rock wool denim or fiberglass. And yet for example our fresno calif franchise abc cooling routinely insulates attics from r 50 to r 60 in home retrofits. Spray foam insulation is by far the best type of insulation for hot climates as it has. This is actually consistent with energy star recommendations see table.

I discuss the different types of insulation you can choose and how to decide on the right one in a previous post. The opposite happens in cold weather thus your improved temperature balance in winter. The attic is almost always the best place to start with the biggest bang for your buck. Another name of loose fill insulation is blow in insulation.

Radiant barrier is a great option for hot climates as it doesn t try to slow the heat from passing.