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Attic Insulation - Crucial Home Heating System

Insulation of your attic offers the easiest and economical way of reducing your heating bills. Of course, there are many options these days and one often hears of new energy-efficient furnaces. But, for any reason if you are not planning to replace your heating system or find the eco-friendly appliances a bit too expensive, insulation makes a very good choice.

As we all know that air on getting heated rises above the floor towards the ceiling, unless there is some preventive arrangement at the top, the hot air would leak out from there. It’s not hot air that is leaking out, but the money you spend on heating air that is continuously being thrown out of the room. So, providing insulation retains the hot air within the room, thereby reducing the load on your heating arrangement and hence saving your money. There are different materials and ways of providing insulation, but three of the more popular ones are mentioned here.

Fiberglass Batt Insulation

Most of the householders associate fiberglass batts with insulation. These are long strips in pink or yellow color. Batt insulation is quite convenient to install and one can have it with different “R” values. Further, you may have it with or without vapor barrier backings. Ideally, it’s suitable for places that have no wires or pipes or such protrusions, but people prefer to use it for homes for the sheer convenience of installation. To accommodate the said protrusions, you necessarily have to make holes or slits around them and that makes the insulation far from perfect. Such improper installations fail to provide the desired level of insulation and you may continue to have leakages of hot air.

Cellulose Blown Insulation

Though cheaper than fiberglass batts, cellulose insulation would generally call for the services of a professional installer, thereby adding to the final cost. Cellulose insulation is a loose fill material that is uniformly applied to the attic, leaving no gaps in its coating. A professionally executed job ensures that the insulation is applied uniformly and there are no holes for hot air to escape the attic. This type of insulation is classified as “green”, being made from recycled paper, and therefore finds favor with people who are conscious of environments. Though treated for retarding fires, it is prone to be infested by pests and mold. So, you’ll need to check on that aspect.

Spray Foam Insulation

Not so long ago, this kind of insulation was exclusively meant for commercial applications, but for quite sometime now it is also being used for domestic applications. The unique characteristic of this material is that it expands many times of its original size, thus getting squeezed into every nook and corner to provide complete insulation. Spray foam has high R-values and gives draft free insulation. At times too good insulation that it provides may cause overheating of your shingles at the underside of your ceiling. The insulation must be entrusted to professionals who have the special tools and skills to ensure a uniform application, keeping the wastage of this expensive material to its bare minimum.

You may opt for any of the insulations: batt, cellulose, or spray foam to realize that a well executed insulation causes a substantial reduction of up to thirty percent in your heating costs. You are not helping yourself alone, but the environments too. Check with your local insulation installer the most suitable way of insulating your attic.