Best Way To Insulate Attic In Hot Climate

Check out my other post insulation for a hot climate for some ideas for the other side of the coin.

Best way to insulate attic in hot climate. This is actually consistent with energy star recommendations see table. 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. The best way to avoid the heat transfer from the roof and the attic into the living space is to use high levels of attic and roof assembly insulation provided by materials such as cellulose or rigid foams. Reverse stack effect in hot weather will create a highway of hot air from your attic into the house especially the upstairs.

And yet for example our fresno calif franchise abc cooling routinely insulates attics from r 50 to r 60 in home retrofits. Because the simplest and cheapest way to insulate an attic is to add material to the floor. Another name of loose fill insulation is blow in insulation. Plan to pull up the flooring and layer new insulation on top of the old.

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. The attic is almost always the best place to start with the biggest bang for your buck. 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.

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. Best insulation for hot climates 1. Common practice in some areas still has it pegged at r 19. A machine blows loose fill into the spaces filling each corner in the wall and floors to apply in every corner.

It is a great option for attic walls and floors. The spaces where you can t reach to insulate properly loose fill can easily reach. Spray foam insulation is by far the best type of insulation for hot climates as it has. The most important factor to consider in a warmer climate is the addition of a radiant barrier to whichever type of insulation you select.

Hope the middle climate zones are tough because you have to split the difference between insulation techniques.