Ever wonder why your average electric bill is so high? Or perhaps why is your room so hot? Unfortunately, your attic could be the culprit. A homeowner’s average electric bill can be drastically affected by the condition of their attic space. Attic insulation offers significant benefits not only to the longevity of the home but also to the home’s air quality and average electric bill. Attic insulation provides a barrier between the outdoors and the indoors, slowing the stream of air from entering and exiting the home. However, cracks in the attic can cause even further issues. Even if your attic is insulated, cracks in the walls can still be the reason why your average electric bill is so high. These cracks allow the air that you pay to heat and cool to escape outside, making your rooms so hot and your average electric bill very high. Fear not, however! Good Home Insulation is here to help! Whether you’re in Charlotte, NC, Matthews, NC, or even Rock Hill, we’re on it!
Common Signs of Cracks
So what are you to look for? Even if your attic space is insulated, your home could still be suffering from cracks. Here are some basic signs that might suggest you have leakage:
- Increased average electric bills
- Drafty Rooms
- Always ask yourself: ‘Why Is My Room So Hot?’
- Uneven temperatures between rooms
- Dusty, musty air in the home
Cracks in the walls of your attic are allowing precious heated and cooled air to enter your home. Hot air seeks refuge in cold air. Thus, during the summer, hot air from the outdoors seeps through the cracks and holes to enter your home into the cooled air. In the winter, the warm air that you pay to heat will seep through these holes to escape to the cooler air outside. This causes your HVAC system to constantly be working, as the air that you’re paying to heat and cool is escaping. Your average electric bills are increasing, as your HVAC system is working harder. One of the best ways to lower your electric bill is to ensure that your attic is working with maximum efficiency.
Where to Look
Now that you’re on the hunt for cracks or holes in your attic, let’s discuss where you can find them. It helps to take a candle and light it in your attic so you can see the light flicker against the light coming through the holes. Here are the most common places for attic air leaks:
- Behind and underneath knee walls
- Attic hatch
- Electrical Wiring
- Plumbing or pipe holes
- Recessed lighting
- The wall feature that hides your ductwork
- Chimneys and flues
Home Inspection
If after a quick search on your own, you’ve determined that there are some holes in your attic, your next step is most likely to give a professional company a call. Our team would be honored to be that contact and we provide all of our clients a free inspection. During this inspection, we will use a thermal detector to inspect your home and your attic. This will allow us to find any air leaks. It ensures that we are not solely relying on our naked eye. Once we are able to determine the problem spots and issues in your space, we will sit down with you and show pictures and explanations of all that we have found. Together, we will come up with a solution that fits your home, budget, and needs. We will find a fix that will lower your average electric bill and ensure maximum efficiency for your home.
Solution #1: Attic Insulation
The first main cause of increased average electric bills and excessively hot rooms is an unfinished attic. Attic insulation serves an incredibly important role in your home. Not only does it provide that buffered, insulating effect but it also ensures the health and safety of your home. Attic insulation slows down and helps to block the transfer of hot air outside and inside your home. Attic insulation, along with radiant barriers, are excellent additions to your home. Radiant barriers are able to reduce radiant energy emittance by 97%! That will have a huge effect on your home and will very much help to lower your electric bill. Here are just a few of the benefits of attic insulation:
- The balanced temperature in every room of the home
- Lower average electric bill
- No drafty rooms
- Healthy, non-moldy air in the home
- Fire-protectant between rooms
- A sound barrier between rooms
- Energy efficient home
- Increased value of the home
Solution #2: Air Sealing
Air sealing is the solution for cracks in your attic. Air sealing is a small, but mighty project, that will ensure that the air that you are paying to heat and cool actually remains in your home. What a novel concept! Air sealing is exactly as it sounds. Our installers seal up the cracks and gaps of your attic with a type of attic insulation called spray foam insulation. It is sprayed into the holes and will expand to fit the space, creating a permanent seal over the issue. By the time we are done, your attic will be entirely sealed, ensuring that no air is able to pass in and out of the attic space. Attic air sealing is a great feature in a home in Charlotte, NC. It will protect against humid and moist temperatures, ensuring that the air circulating in your home is mold-free and clean. Air sealing is a fantastic way to improve the health, longevity, and efficiency of your home.
Attic Air Sealing Process
In order to air seal your attic, you will need to have the following processes followed. Our team of experts will be able to walk you through the course of action and ensure that the work is done properly to secure your home.
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Secure Large Gaps
First, the installers will plug the large holes or gaps in the attic walls. They will use spray foam to plug any openings that are ¼ inch to 3 inches wide. These holes most often come from plumbing pipes or vents. Once these are secured, this will have the greatest impact on the security of your home, as the air will no longer have easy access in and out of your attic. This will quickly reduce your average electric bill and help to ensure that you aren’t constantly asking “Why is my room so hot?”.
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Secure Small Gaps
Once the large gaps in the attic are accounted for, our team will start looking for and sealing up the remainder of the tiny gaps. While they do not have quite an effect as the large ones do, it is important that all of the gaps are sealed off to ensure your space is 100% closed off from the elements. For these tiny gaps that are smaller than ¼ wide, caulk is the material of choice for our team. These gaps are often found around electrical boxes. We are sure to use a caulk that is fire-safe, as temperatures can be great in the attic.
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Secure Any Remaining Gaps
After the main gaps are accounted for, our team will secure any other gaps that are in the attic. Wood framing is required by code in Charlotte, NC to be kept at least one inch from metal flues and two inches from any chimneys. However, these spaces allow air to enter and flow through the gaps. As such, we will cover these 1 and 2-inch gaps with aluminum flashing. The flashing will then be sealed with heat-resistant caulk.
Energy-Loss No More!
So let’s discuss the next steps. We’d highly recommend you take a quick look in your attic. Determine if you are experiencing any of the symptoms we’ve discussed above. Are you constantly asking yourself “Why is my room so hot?” or confused as to why your average electric bill is so high? These can be telltale signs that your attic is not properly insulated or sealed. Our team of experts is here to help teach you how to lower your electric bill and protect your home from the elements. Give us a call today. We’d love to help!