Wednesday 29 December 2010

Reasons to Insulate Your Attic

It doesn't really matter what time of the year it is, there is always a good time to insulate your attic and that time is always the present moment, if it has not already been done.

The two main reasons for adding insulation to any area of the house including the loft space, are to reduce heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer and to ultimately save money on energy bills. After all, nobody wants to spend more than they need to on electricity especially when there are a number of ways to reduce your home's electricity consumption.

Why Insulate at All?


Most people think of attic insulation as a way of keeping a house warmer in winter while cutting down on heating bills, but it also has an effect in summer too. So if you were wondering why insulate your attic, here's why.

In summer, the heat from the sun heats up your roof and that heat radiates downwards into your attic. Yes, I know heat rises, but it also convects in all directions. In an attic in summer, you will notice it heating up a lot, especially when the sun is overhead and there is little or no breeze.

That heat doesn't just stay in your attic, but radiates down through the ceiling into the rooms below, heating them up too. If you are relying on air conditioning to cool your home in summer, then the system will have to work harder to remove the excess heat that convects down from above, costing you more in power bills.

Attic insulation helps stop that heat from sneaking into your home by convection through the ceiling. This makes it cooler and puts less strain on your air cooling system, resulting in lower power bills.

Good for Summer, Good for Winter


In winter, the reverse is true in terms of the flow of heat between the outside and the interior of the home. Heat generated from your home's heating system does rise and a large percentage of it will go straight up through the ceiling and into your attic, then escape off into the air outside.

Having attic insulation fitted helps prevent that heat loss by deflecting it back down into the rooms below. It also plays a big part in saving on your fuel bills to keep the heating system running as it doesn't have to work quite so hard to maintain a comfortable temperature inside.

So that pretty much explains the main two reasons why you should consider going ahead and insulating your attic space if it isn't already... as soon as possible!