3 Ways Your Attic Insulation Affects Your Home
The attic insulation in your Orlando, Florida, home plays a surprisingly large role in your home’s comfort. Attic insulation tends to be forgotten about since we see it so rarely, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less important. Here are some ways your insulation affects your home to give you a good idea of its importance, as well as why keeping it in good shape is vital for keeping a comfortable home.
How Insulation Works
To understand its effects on your home better, it’s helpful to know how insulation works. Insulation is added into the floor spaces in your attic. It can be either laid down and rolled out or sprayed in. Either way, its role is mostly to do with heat.
The law of thermodynamics dictates that heat will always travel from hot areas to cold areas. During the summer, that means heat is moving from outside into your home, and during winter, heat is escaping your home. This obviously causes many issues with home comfort. Insulation is a barrier that keeps the heat where it’s supposed to be, either inside or out. If insulation gets worn down or thinned out, its ability to block heat will be reduced.
Now that we know how it works, let’s take a look at how insulation affects your home.
1. Energy Efficiency
It’s no surprise your attic insulation is tied into your home’s energy efficiency. If your insulation isn’t doing its job correctly, you may notice skyrocketing utility bills. As heat moves through the weakened barrier of your insulation, your HVAC system has to work harder to make up the difference.
For example, when the summer heats up your attic space, that temperature can start leaking into your home. As it changes the temperature inside your home, your HVAC system will note the change and kick into a new cycle more frequently than it normally would. The more cycles that run, the more energy is consumed. This will be reflected in your utility bills at the end of the month.
2. Temperature Control
When heat leaks through your attic insulation, you may also start dealing with temperature control issues. Your HVAC can only do so much if the issue is consistent and serious. If your attic insulation has become flat, broken up or worn out, that heat exchange can dramatically affect your indoor temperature, especially during the sweltering Florida summers.
As the heat enters or leaves your home, your thermostat setting may not reflect the temperature inside your house. This can lead to an uncomfortable home that is difficult to regulate through your climate control system. You may also notice uneven temperatures in your home if the insulation isn’t uniform. This can lead to uncomfortable temperatures in specific rooms that may not kick on your HVAC’s cycle.
On the other hand, those specific spots where the insulation is thin can start up a new HVAC cycle. This creates even more uneven temperatures as your system tries to get one area cool or hot, leading to supercooled or warmed areas in the rest of the house. While fans or open doors can help address this problem by introducing more airflow into the affected area, that isn’t a long-term solution.
3. Wear and Tear
As your HVAC system runs more often to make up for the difference in temperature caused by poor insulation, you may find yourself facing more wear and tear to your system. Your system will try to run extra to keep your home the temperature it’s supposed to be, even if you adjust your thermostat, as the influx or exit of heat can vary the temperature no matter what. Excessive running can wear down parts more quickly and cause mechanical issues more regularly than a system that’s running how it is supposed to.
Attic insulation problems aren’t the only reason your HVAC system isn’t running normally. Any situation that leads to extra cycles and more run time can pose major issues to your system. If you notice more frequent cycles than usual, be sure to get HVAC maintenance performed to find the root of the problem before it causes greater issues, such as system breakdowns or failures.
If you’re concerned about your attic insulation posing problems for the rest of your home, Frank’s Air Conditioning can help. Call us at (407) 490-2070 to set up a consultation today.
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