Looking for ways to make your home more energy efficient in those hot Durham summers? Spray foam insulation in your attic is one of the most effective ways to do this!
Insulation provides thermal resistance to convective and conductive heat flow. Convective heat flow is how heat circulates throughout your home. Conductive is the heat that moves through materials, such as your roof, wood in your attic, and sheet rock in your ceiling. Insulating your attic blocks the natural movement of heat flowing into cooler parts of your home, and vice versa. This means a more comfortable living space and lower electric bills.
What is Spray Foam Insulation?
Spray foam insulation is a fairly new material commonly made from organic compounds used to make polymers. When the liquid polyol and liquid isocyanate combine and are sprayed, the liquids become a foam that quickly expand up to sixty times the size of the liquid. Foam insulation can be sprayed directly onto walls, between studs, and even into small gaps around electrical outlets, or where walls meet floors, windows, and doors. The result is heavy-duty, long-lasting insulation that is almost twice as effective as fiberglass or cellulose.
Benefits of Foam Insulation for Your Attic
The biggest benefit of attic foam insulation is the improvement you’ll see in the efficiency of your home’s HVAC system. By sealing air leaks and drafts and reducing heat conduction from your attic to your living areas, your HVAC unit doesn’t need to work as hard to regulate your home’s temperature. That means lower energy bills and a comfortable living space.
More benefits of spray foam insulation include:
- This type of insulation prevents mold and mildew growth by hindering moisture transfer
- Spray foam insulation does not move or shift over time
- The rigid texture benefits your attic’s structural integrity
- Insects and pests do not feed on spray foam insulation, meaning there is a much lower chance of infestations and nesting
- No allergens, dust, or particles means it won’t irritate your family’s breathing or cause allergic reactions
- Spray foam insulation is more environmentally-friendly than fiberglass or cellulose insulation
R-Values and Insulation Effectiveness
Each type of insulation is given an R-value rating that shows its effectiveness. The higher the R-value, the more effective it is. Fiberglass batts have an R-value of 3.5 and cellulose insulation has a value of 4.0. Our spray foam insulation has an R-value of 7.0, making it twice as effective at stopping heat flow into your attic than fiberglass!
Installing Attic Foam Insulation
The first step in spraying attic foam is removing any old insulation. After the old insulation is removed and the area cleaned, our technicians will run a long hose to your attic that is connected to the two containers of liquid that create the foam. As the techs begin spraying your attic walls, eaves, and flooring (optional), the foam will stick to nearly every material, including wood, masonry, and metal, and expand dramatically. This creates an airtight, water-resistant barrier.
After it reaches its maximum size, the foam dries and sets quickly. Once it is solidified, the technicians trim excess foam and clean up the attic. The installation process is quick, but due to the mixing of chemicals and special equipment needed to spray it, it must be installed by professionals.
Forget What You Know About Attic “Breathing”
Using spray foam in your attic seals up all open spaces, even the smallest cracks and crevices, including ventilation spaces.
You have probably heard that it’s necessary to have ventilation in attics (letting your attic “breathe”) because it protects your home by keeping air circulating, preventing moisture from building up in the winter and allowing heat to escape in the summer. This isn’t completely true.
In reality, it’s only necessary to ventilate your attic and let build up of moisture and hot air escape if it’s coming in through cracks and voids in the roof. When moisture and excess heat can’t build up, you don’t need to let your attic “breathe”. With spray foam insulation, moisture and heat don’t have a chance to build up.
Contact The Durham Attic Foam Insulation Experts Today!
If you’d like to learn more about insulating your attic to create a more comfortable, energy efficient home, make Crawl Space and Basement Technologies your first choice! Give us a call at 919-847-7072 or fill out our online form to get your no-obligation, estimate!
