10 Important Facts about Attic Insulation

Adding insulation to your attic is a great way to reduce energy waste in your home. It’s also a terrific way to increase the comfort of the home in terms of year-round in-house temperatures. If you’re looking into making this change to your home, here are 10 things you might want to know about attic insulation:

1. Installing attic insulation is considered to be a highly cost-effective and relatively simple way to reduce energy waste in the home.


2. Before doing the installation, you need to seal any air leaks. This may include caulking around the chimney, framing and tops of interior walls. It may also include sealing some ducts and covering up various gaps between the attic and the home.


3. After installing attic insulation, your home should feel cooler in summer and warmer in winter. If this is not the case then you may need additional insulation in your basement and/or on your exterior walls in order to truly maximize the energy efficiency of the home.


4. Insulation is measured in R-values. The average home in the United States should have attic insulation somewhere between R-30 and R-60. This varies by region; check with the Department of Energy for exact information about the right R values for your home. For example, R-49 is a common recommended R-value for homes in cold climates.


5. You can easily tell if you need additional attic insulation simply by looking at your uncovered attic floor. If your insulation is lower than or level with the attic floor joists then you probably need to add more insulation.


6. In inches, you generally want 12-15 inches of attic insulation for the best energy-efficient results. This varies depending on both your location and the type of insulation that you use.


7. The most common type of attic insulation is to use fiberglass batts or blankets. However, you can use other materials and can also use blown-in insulation. Consult with an expert to determine which option is best for your home.


8. You do not need to remove old insulation when installing new insulation. Just add the new insulation on top of what is already there.


9. You can insulate the inside of the roof instead of the attic itself. However, you should only do this if there is no existing insulation in the attic already.


10. The biggest mistake people make when insulating the attic is failure to insulate the access door. It seems like such a small area so people often don’t bother with this but it’s really important if you want true energy savings in the home.