Adding energy efficiency and comfort to your home can be as easy as adding weatherstripping to leaky windows and doors to more involved upgrades like replacing your heating and air conditioning system.  Deciding what improvements will mean the most for your home starts with understanding its current efficiency by asking questions like:

• How do my utility costs compare to similarly sized houses in the area?
• Are summer or winter utility bills significantly higher than other times of the year?
• Are you concerned with the effectiveness of current attic insulation?
• Is your attic insulation compressed and/or ­appears degraded?
• Do you frequently adjust thermostat to stay comfortable?

Questions like these will help you formulate the right plan forward towards a more energy efficient home.  In a southern climate zone, retrofitting with spray foam under the roof deck for a closed-attic assembly is now a popular choice for many older homes looking to upgrade on energy efficiency.  It is recommended to remove any current insulation from the attic floor before spraying foam to the underside of the roof deck.  For a complete thermal envelope it is important to flash the rafters along the roof deck to protect against thermal bridging that occurs through the wood members.  If you see exposed rafters along the roof decking, the complete system is not in place.

Retrofitting with a closed attic assembly will greatly reduce energy loss through air leakage contributed to vented attics.  In fact, 40% of energy loss according to the Department of Energy is due to air leakage.  This is why energy savings can be so drastic after installing spray foam in the roof deck as a vent-less attic system.  Another benefit is effective R-Value as well as radiant heat protection.  Most closed-attic assemblies create an attic space that is no more than 5 to 10 degrees different than the conditioned space below. 

However, changing the current performance of your house by encapsulating the roof line with air-tight spray foam may not complement current HVAC design.  It is highly recommended to have an HVAC specialist examine how your home unit will effectively condition, regulate humidity, and even introduce recovery air into a house with far less air leakage.

Not every house is suitable for a spray foam retrofitted attic.  Call us today and we will help you decide if spray foam is right for your energy upgrade.