Why Some Areas in Your Home are Better to Insulate Than Others

While you might think of insulation as something more important in cold climates, good insulation has major benefits in sunny Orlando, too. Knowing which areas to insulate will help you get the most from your home upgrade budget.

The Attic

The attic is one of the most critical areas to insulate for year-round comfort and savings. Warm air naturally rises, so if your attic isn’t well air-sealed and insulated, the warm air from your furnace will escape into your attic and out through your roof.

In summer, the sun on your roof can raise your attic temperature to well over 100 degrees. All that excess heat radiates into your rooms, increasing the workload on your air conditioner. These situations waste energy and contribute to moisture and mold problems in the attic.

In Orlando, your attic insulation should be between R-30 to R-60, which is at least 10 inches of fiberglass batt insulation. Batt insulation is easy to install yourself. Blown-in insulation fills small crevices more efficiently, but you’ll need a blower machine to install it.

The Duct System

Your heating and cooling system is only as efficient as the air ducts it relies on to deliver warm and cool air to your rooms. As air travels through ducts in unconditioned spaces, such as the basement or attic, it can pick up or lose heat to the ambient air. You then get air that’s cooler or warmer than you expected, so you adjust the thermostat to compensate, using more energy.

Insulating your ducts to R-6 level helps keep the air inside them close to the same temperature it was when it left the furnace or A/C. Specially designed duct wrap insulation is available for this, but batt insulation works well, too. With efficiently insulated ducts, you can choose more energy-efficient thermostat temperatures and still stay comfortable.

If you want to add even more insulation to your home, consider installing exterior wall sheathing underneath your siding.

For pro guidance on finding the best areas to insulate in your home, contact us at Rinaldi’s Energy Solutions in the Orlando area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Orlando, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).

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