It wasnโt until Iย moved down south that I realized how important insulation for warm climates could be. You see, Iย really like old houses. I like them so much that I decided to move my familyย into a 3 bedroom bungalow and renovate it while we lived there. It only took aย couple of months for me to notice that our electric bill was skyrocketing outย of control. I had thought that a southern home would save tons of money sinceย we wouldnโt have to heat it all that much during the winter. But for a homeย that measured less 2000 square feet, this house was seeing electric billsย upwards of $250 a month during the summer.
Ah yes, air conditioning.
Understanding the Effects of Home Insulation
And so I began myย quest to understand insulation for warm climates. I adapted our plan to best combat this phenomenon known asย a โbreathingโ historic home. You see, back when they didnโt have airย conditioning, people preferred houses that closely resembled large pieces ofย swiss cheese. It was in this way that air circulated throughout the house andย cooled it down. The family pet took care of random pest issues, and everyoneย was happy.
Fast forward to air conditioning. Now the house leaks like a balloonย at a dart convention, and you might as well leave your front door open and coolย down the entire neighborhood. I just donโt believeย an energy-sealing attic ladderย is going to be enough toย fix that.
But we can do better.
Solutions for Insulating an Older Home
To combat this issue,ย we looked at and considered several solutions. In the end, we decided to kill two birdsย with one stone. Our house was in desperate need of new windows, so this was anย excellent excuse to re-side the home with Hardiplank and insert some insulationย in the walls at the same time. This would not only beautify the home but alsoย give us this much-needed barrier against air simply running right through ourย walls.
Well, now that weโveย got those walls insulatedโฆ (it took us about 2 weeks, but I just wanted toย sound like an episode of This Old Houseย where even days of work can occurย over a short commercial break)โฆ we realized that we had left one very importantย area uncoveredโliterally.
The attic. As it turns out, when addressing insulation for warm climates, the attic plays a very important role.
Insulating Your Attic
We had inserted R13 and Tyvek around ourย entire house but had neglected this very important part of the home.
The atticย had two problems: lack of proper insulation (what was there was far too old andย compressed to be of any practical use) and lack of proper ventilation. How much attic insulation you use will be determined by how much improvement you want to see and what your budget it for the improvement. You can spend more on blow-in insulation with pest control propertiesย (itโs like Pestblock foam in insulation form), or you can go with standard insulation.
Ridge Vents and Attic Insulation for Warm Climates
The next thing we looked at was roof ventilation. Believe it or not, ourย roof had only one small outlet for air to escape. There were no ridge vents andย few inlets for air to properly pass through.
Our next step was toย insert some ridge vents. Fortunately, this can be done quite easily afterwardโeven to an existing roof that had been there for ten or more years. Theย difference was staggering. Prior to the vents, our attic easily reachedย temperatures of 140+ degrees. Now the temperature was greatly reduced. The netย effect on the home is that we werenโt โheatingโ the home from above whileย cooling it from below.
R38 Insulation to the Rescue
After this, we had Combee Insulation blow inย the equivalent of R38 insulation throughout the attic. This was calculated taking into account what we already had in there. Then, we waited to see ourย next monthโs electric bill. It came in at around $175. Not bad. Averaged out,ย we calculated weโd end up saving nearly $900 each year. Now you may not be in aย hurry to re-side your entire home just to save $75/month in electricity. Toย be honest, we were going to do this regardlessโit made the home much moreย attractive. Insulation just served as icing on the cake.
Installing Radiant Barrier
We have an entire article dealing with installing radiant barrier insulation to help reduce your energy costs. It works. It works like magic. Seriously, check it out and get some.
Can I Insulate Without Tearing off Walls?
There are several otherย products on the market that will allow you to insulate your home withoutย tearing off your walls. Each has its pros and cons, so do your research.ย Ensuring adequate ventilation in your attic and installing an attic fan mightย be ways you can save a lot of money with only a minimum expenditure.
And believe meโthe attic is where you gain the most benefit and savings. Start there.
I learned thatย insulation is not just an issue you deal with in cold-weather climates. Itโsย critically important in warmer environments as well. When addressed properly it stands to save you lots ofย money. Look into the options available to you and takeย advantage of as much cost savings as you can.
