How To Take Advantage Of The Heat In Your Attic

This seems like a potentially good idea to me if one can figure out a workable ducting arrangement.

How to take advantage of the heat in your attic.

You d be better off insulating and air sealing your ceiling. Using insulation only keeps the attic s heat from traveling through your home. A well insulated and air sealed attic in phoenix will only comprise 10 15 of the sensible cooling load. Seal spaces around plumbing recessed lights and vents.

If you want to put a powered attic ventilator in your house fine. While it does help to reduce the heat in your attic putting these fans in your attic costs more because of the loss of conditioned air. One idea is to figure out a way to draw intake air for the clothes dryer from the attic area when attic temps are high. Keep that super heated air from seeping into your living space.

Properly sealing these leaks can save as much as 10 every month on your power bill. Especially since most people don t make use of their attic space it makes sense to move the hvac system to the attic to free up basement space. A radiant barrier in the attic helps prevent the electromagnetic transfer of heat such as from the photons in sunlight. 4 ways to reduce attic heat in your home.

Don t let a contractor talk you into it. In warm climates it is common practice to run heating and air conditioning ducting through attic spaces simply because it is easy to do. In other words when you get the basics right your attic insulation and air barrier you then need to focus on other energy conservation strategies like duct sealing and shade screens. You won t ever pay an energy bill for that unlike you do with your pav.

Unfortunately this practice is all too common in our northern cold climate putting air conditioning ducts in the hottest. But by adding powered attic fans you will draw more air into the attic. If you want the heat out of your attic a reflective roof or radiant barrier are better ways to get there. In my experience heating ducts that run through attics cause serious problems in snow country.

Install radiant barriers in your attic to improve heating and cooling efficiency. Installing your hvac unit in the attic can free up space for these uses. An attic radiant barrier is made of a highly reflective material mounted on one or both sides of a substrate.