The 4 Most Common Types Of Attic Insulation For Existing Homes
Insulation serves a vital function in your home. The insulation located in its attic and walls is responsible for keeping heated air indoors in the winter and cooled air inside when the summer temperatures soar outside. In addition, the insulation also keeps excessively hot and cold temperatures outdoors from excessively heating and cooling the inside of your home.
When your home's walls or attic space aren't properly insulated, then power bills for heating and cooling will be drastically higher than they would be for a well-insulated house.
While insulating wall spaces after a home is built is a major renovation project, this isn't the case when adding insulation to an existing attic. For this reason, it's common for energy-conscious homeowners to add more attic insulation in an effort to lower their winter and summer power bills.
If you are considering adding more insulation in your home's attic, then you have four different options. While a licensed building contractor should inspect the attic and determine the best insulation for your unique home and local climate, it's important you understand each of the available options. To this end, they are listed below in no specific order:
Option #1: Fiberglass Batt Insulation
Rolls of fiberglass batt insulation can be found at any hardware or home improvement store and are relatively inexpensive. Fiberglass is a great insulator, and this type of insulation has been used in millions of homes over many decades. Fiberglass batts can be installed in an attic either by a professional or a homeowner.
Option #2: Loose-Fill Fiberglass Insulation
Since fiberglass batts have a hard time conforming to all of the angles and bends in an attic, some homeowners opt for loose-fill fiberglass insulation instead. This type of insulation is spread around the floor of the attic and is capable of providing a bit better energy efficiency than fiberglass batts.
Option #3: Spray Foam Insulation
As its name implies, spray foam insulation is a foam product that's sprayed into the attic by a professional contractor. Spray foam insulation is expensive, but it is also one of the most effective on the market today.
Option #4: Cellulose Fiber Insulation
Finally, if your home is located in an area without a lot of humidity and doesn't have any rodent problems, cellulose fiber insulation is an inexpensive option that does a great job of insulating an attic.
Cellulose fiber insulation is made of recycled paper and wood products and is sprayed into the attic. In fact, you can rent the machine and install this type of insulation if you want to save some money.
