Attic Fan Vs Adding More Insulation

Most experts contend that a well ventilated attic keeps the house more comfortable in summer and guards against moist heated air building up in winter.

Attic fan vs adding more insulation.

Is it more cost effective to install an attic fan or add additional insulation when the sun shines on your roof the dark shingles assuming that you have a shingled roof collect the. There s a handy chart on the chicago conservation corps blog. The thought process goes something like this. As it turns out because the insulation slows heat from moving down into the living space homes with well insulated attics don t see a significant reduction in their cooling load when they add attic ventilation fans.

Get the basics in your attic right and you will not need to invest in radiant barriers attic fans or more insulation. Attic hatch or door. There are also dissenting voices who say that the benefits of ventilation are. However if your soffit vents are dirty or clogged then you will have little to no airflow through the attic.

Adding a storm window brings it to an r 2. In most cases it is not difficult to air seal and insulated an attic. About attic ventilation natural attic ventilation. More is not always better.

At first it may seem odd to add insulation for warmth and then purposely allow cold air to enter the attic through vents but this combination is the key to a durable and energy efficient home. If i add an electric solar attic fan to my roof i can help pull out more hot air from the attic and it will be cooler. Fans can cause increased loss of conditioned air. Instead of spending money on radiant barriers attic fans or levels of insulation above an r 40 investing duct sealing and shade screens would make more sense.

One static vent style is the turbine vent which uses wind to power its enclosed fan all it takes is a light breeze to rotate the blades and suck heat out of the attic view example on the home. Replacing that with a pretty good efficiency new window will bring it up to an r 3 or r 4. Affix rigid foam insulation to the attic side of the hatch or door. I was looking at getting insulation blown in as well as potentially adding an attic fan gable mounted and then i saw some articles online about radiant barriers.

In the last several decades building codes have called for increased attic insulation. That s not a huge increase in the insulating value of the window especially given the cost to replace. More ventilation is always better. Add weatherstripping around the perimeter and a sweep to the door of a walk up attic.

Pull down stair or ladder.