How To Take Advantage Of The Heat In Your Attic

A well insulated and air sealed attic in phoenix will only comprise 10 15 of the sensible cooling load.

How to take advantage of the heat in your attic. In my experience heating ducts that run through attics cause serious problems in snow country. Properly sealing these leaks can save as much as 10 every month on your power bill. This way the dryer does not have to do as much heating of the air. A radiant barrier in the attic helps prevent the electromagnetic transfer of heat such as from the photons in sunlight.

Keep that super heated air from seeping into your living space. Seal spaces around plumbing recessed lights and vents. While it does help to reduce the heat in your attic putting these fans in your attic costs more because of the loss of conditioned air. Don t let a contractor talk you into it.

In warm climates it is common practice to run heating and air conditioning ducting through attic spaces simply because it is easy to do. You d be better off insulating and air sealing your ceiling. But by adding powered attic fans you will draw more air into the attic. If you want the heat out of your attic a reflective roof or radiant barrier are better ways to get there.

You won t ever pay an energy bill for that unlike you do with your pav. Unfortunately this practice is all too common in our northern cold climate putting air conditioning ducts in the hottest. Your attic can get as hot as 150 degrees in the summer. Install radiant barriers in your attic to improve heating and cooling efficiency.

Using insulation only keeps the attic s heat from traveling through your home. One idea is to figure out a way to draw intake air for the clothes dryer from the attic area when attic temps are high. This seems like a potentially good idea to me if one can figure out a workable ducting arrangement. Installing your hvac unit in the attic can free up space for these uses.

In other words when you get the basics right your attic insulation and air barrier you then need to focus on other energy conservation strategies like duct sealing and shade screens. Especially since most people don t make use of their attic space it makes sense to move the hvac system to the attic to free up basement space. The air you lose from the attic is then drawn into your home from the outside which will cause your cooling bill to go up.