Your home is meant to be a safe comfortable space you can relax in. Unfortunately, if your HVAC system is running non-stop, or you have inconsistent heating and cooling from one room to another, or your utility bills skyrocket mid-season, you should consider an attic insulation and air sealing project. It can really help you save money and keep your home cozy year-round.
So, is air-sealing the attic worth it? The answer is yes, but only if you can also ensure your home has proper insulation and ventilation. Let’s take a closer look at what benefits attic air sealing can bring you.
#1 Benefit: Consistent Temperatures throughout Your Home
Your HVAC system is designed to distribute conditioned air evenly throughout your home, but air leaks, obstructions in ductwork, and inflow and loss of heat through uninsulated areas can prevent your system from working properly.
Reducing air leakage and thermal transfer, as well as improving your home’s ventilation, reduces strain on your HVAC system and helps it maintain a comfortable environment for the entire home. Even if your home has sunny areas, the improved airflow will help move cool or warm air around the house to reduce indoor temperature differences.
You can further these benefits with an insulation upgrade and by installing new windows or adding window wraps to mitigate heat transfer.
#2 Benefit: Clean, Quality Air Is Good for Your Health
The filters in your air conditioning system are designed to remove dust and debris from the atmosphere in the room. In addition, special filters are capable of eliminating allergens and other indoor air pollutants.
Sealing air ducts and air leaks throughout your home can decrease dust and dirt buildup. Clean quality air can greatly reduce allergy symptoms, which can make your home a safe haven during allergy season, especially if you suffer from asthma.
#3 Benefit: Saving Energy and Money by Increasing Efficiency
Air sealing your attic and heat exchange has every chance to significantly influence air quality and the heating or cooling of your HVAC system.
Sealing and insulating your home and also improving light flow, can help your attic HVAC system perform at its best in both summer and winter and can also help you keep it off for longer if the weather outside is great.
By the way, here’s a topical before this summer: How to Solar Attic Fan Installation: The Gadget That Saves Money.
#4 Benefit: Humidity Control
Roof leaks can cause significant water damage even after a single rainstorm, but roof leaks aren’t the only way moisture can get into your home.
The temperature of the outside air and inside the attic can vary greatly, causing condensation to form. This water vapor in the air can form droplets all over the attic space if you can’t control it.
Insulating, ventilating, and sealing your attic can prevent mold, fungus, and water damage that can cause health problems and disrupt the structure of your house.
#5 Benefit: Protect Your Home from Pests
By eliminating air leaks in your home’s attic ceiling and floor, you’re also reducing pest invasions in your attic. Many animals and insects find your attic an attractive place to settle.
Among those willing are squirrels, raccoons, chipmunks, possums, rodents, snakes, bats, birds of all kinds, wasps, termites, and so on. You certainly don’t want all that zoo.
#6 Benefit: Noise Control
If your neighbor mows his lawn exceptionally early on weekend mornings, or you live near a busy road, extraneous noise can be a serious nuisance. Properly sealing your attic floor, windows, doors, crawl space, attic hatch, etc. can help make your home quieter and more peaceful.
Good noise insulation gives you the advantage of sleeping as long as your schedule allows, well, or turning up the volume of your favorite album without having to worry about complaining about the noise.
Many people blame thin walls when they can hear everything going on in any part of the house. While additional wall insulation may help, often the problem lies in your air conditioner.
Air sealing and duct insulation can prevent things like conversations, music, or TV sounds from spreading from room to room, allowing you to have privacy or focus while other people in the house go about their business.
How Much Does Air Sealing an Attic Cost?
Air sealing a home may cost anywhere from $1,000 to $4,000. But perhaps in your case, you would only have to deal with the air ducts? See more to plan your budget wisely: Air Duct Replacement Costs VS Repair.
How Much Can Air Sealing an Attic Save Me?
The initial cost of attic insulation and soundproofing has every chance of scaring some homeowners. At the same time, these costs pay off over time due to improved energy efficiency.
According to the EPA, homeowners lose about 25-30% of the conditioned hot or cool air in their homes due to attic air leaks. Preventing leaks can save you up to two hundred dollars a year in electric attic heating and cooling costs.
If the cost of insulating the attic space amounts to $1.000, in the first year you will return 20% of that investment.
When to Сonsider Attic Air Sealing
Many new homes are built to better standards than older homes, and not every house has attic air leakage or insulation issues. However, no matter how old your home is, you should consider starting a project or hiring an attic air-sealing service if you have:
- costly energy bills,
- noticeable drafts,
- certain rooms are too hot or too cold,
- damaged or missing insulation,
- mold or mildew in the attic,
- dry indoor air and poor ventilation.
Does Air Sealing the Attic Work?
After all, if everything is done correctly, the insulation of the attic really works.
By properly equipping an attic room in which there is no problem with humidity, you will be able to avoid heated air leakage, and also help keep your house warm in winter, as well as keep warm air fresh in the summer season.
Pipes are considered one of the most common places for attic air leaks. Damaged ductwork and leaking connections cause heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer.
By air sealing your attic pipes, you increase the energy efficiency of your home and reduce the load on your HVAC equipment. Over time, it will all add up to tangible savings.
How does home air sealing work?
Air sealing an attic is done by applying a coating of sealant or expanding spray foam insulation near places where cables, pipes, or ducts pass through walls or cavities. Pay special attention to small gaps and cracks between pieces of siding or roofing materials to protect cellulose insulation.
If done right, insulating the exterior wall of the attic with fiber can result in a noticeable difference in your monthly energy bill, and the actions taken will pay off.
Do not forget that the attic needs to be constantly checked during the whole year. Start with the blower door test. After that, you can check the indoor air quality.
Next, in the crawl space, pay attention to the presence of hot air. In winter, it must be mandatory. Fiberglass insulation should not allow cold air to get inside. In a living space with good blown insulation, the temperature will stay all winter.
Chapter FAQs
Should I air-seal my attic?
The roof protects the building from outside air precipitation in attic air sealing. But a small amount of moisture in winter dust still penetrates through any roofing. To prevent wooden rafters from getting wet and air moisture problems, it is important to install a reliable and effective barrier.
Waterproofing usually acts as attic air sealing for vermiculite insulation. With proper installation and arrangement of it, and the right choice of building materials for the waterproofing layer, you can be sure that the attic space with warm air will always remain dry, which means it will last a long time.
How much of a difference does air sealing make?
EPA estimates that homeowners can save an average of 15% on heating and cooling costs (or an average of 11% on total energy costs) by air-sealing projects in their homes and adding insulation in attics, and floors over crawl spaces with cooling systems, and basements.
How much does it cost to seal the attic?
The cost of this project can vary depending on the size of your attic and how complicated it is to insulate various spaces within. Typically, air sealing an attic and insulating an attic can cost between $1,000 and $4,500, with the majority of projects falling into the middle of that range.
How do you seal an attic air gap?
So, we recommend a proven material for repairing cracks in pipes and ducts – bitumen tape.
Bitumen tapes are quite easy to find on attic air-sealing projects. They consist of the following layers: aluminum as a reinforcing base, viscous bitumen for adhesion to the roof, and a temporary protective coating that needs to be removed.
So, Let’s Conclude Is Air Sealing the Attic Worth It?
Attic sealing is definitely something worth doing. It will give you at least 6 benefits, from your comfort to reducing heating bills. If you’re still in doubt, consider the green factor – to save energy means to take care of the Earth.
If it’s inconvenient for you to do the sealing protection yourself, many certified attic specialists can help you do the job. The naturally venting combustion appliances recommend sealing the air seal in the attic before insulation.
Comments 1