Attic Insulation: For Better Cooling Downstairs, Improve On What You Have Upstairs

With temperatures soaring in Pasadena, thoughts turn to how to best keep your home environment cool. The obvious answer is an air conditioner or heat pump. Of course, the effectiveness of your system is only as good as the attic insulation above. Read on to find out why improving on what you have upstairs can help make you cooler downstairs.

• Your roof absorbs a tremendous amount of heat in the summer. On hot sunny days, or even hot overcast days, your roof acts as a sponge and heat is transferred through the roofing material into your attic. Attic temperatures can reach 150 degrees or more, particularly in Pasadena where daytime temperatures may hover around the 90 degree mark.
• Your structure absorbs, and then radiates the heat from your attic. Hot attic air is easily absorbed into the building materials in your home. Without a proper barrier, the heat absorbed by the floor of the attic turns your ceiling into a hot plate of sorts. The heat then radiates into your living space, and you may find your ceiling quite warm to the touch. This increases your cooling load and forces your air conditioner to work overtime. When compared to the cost of increased energy usage, insulation is a relatively inexpensive investment.
• Attic insulation prevents the transfer of heat through the ceiling. By layering an adequate amount of insulation on the attic floor, you are reducing the amount of heat that may be transferred to your living space below.

For more information on the importance of attic insulation, give us a call at Air-Tro Inc. Since 1969, we’ve been helping to keep the residents of the Pasadena area cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about attic insulation and other HVAC topics, visit our website.

Air-Tro Inc. services the greater Los Angeles area as well as the metro areas of Riverside and San Bernardino County.