By Ron Strelke, Force Home Services
As outdoor temperatures drop, your home’s attic plays a bigger role in comfort and energy efficiency than most homeowners realize. Warm air naturally rises, and in homes with inadequate insulation—often only 6 to 8 inches deep—much of that costly conditioned air escapes through the attic. The result? Uneven room temperatures, longer run times for your heating system and higher utility bills.
Blown-in fiberglass insulation is one of the most effective and affordable ways to bring your attic up to modern energy standards. In our region, the Department of Energy recommends about R-38, or roughly 15 inches of insulation. Upgrading from older levels can reduce heating and cooling costs by 15 to 20 percent, while also helping your home maintain more consistent temperatures from room to room.
During installation, loose fiberglass fibers are blown across the attic floor to blanket and seal the space evenly, filling gaps between joists that older batt insulation often misses.
This creates a continuous layer that traps heat in the winter and keeps attic heat out in the summer. Most installations take only a few hours and create an immediate difference in comfort.
For homes with heavily soiled or rodent-contaminated insulation, removal and replacement may be recommended—but in most cases, simply topping off the existing insulation to the proper depth is all that’s needed.
Adding attic insulation is one of the smartest home upgrades you can make for year-round efficiency—especially heading into the heating season.
For more information about insulation and home energy savings, see my ad in the November issue of The Cross Timbers Gazette.
(Sponsored content)
