Improving Energy Efficiency in a Bruington, VA Home

Challenge

This homeowner contacted us because they wanted to seal and insulate their home to make it more comfortable and lower their energy bills.  

At the inspection, we found little insulation in the attic. This means that there is little resistance to heat radiating down into the rooms below in the summer making them hot and uncomfortable. In the winter, there is little barrier keeping heat in the house, leaving rooms cold. The ductwork is subject to these same conditions warming up cold air being used to cool rooms making it even more difficult to regulate temperatures in the home. The reverse is true in the winter.

There are also hundreds of holes connecting the unconditioned attic to the living space allowing conditioned air to rise and escape via the stack effect. Consequently, pulling in unconditioned outside air at the bottom of the home, that needs to be conditioned in an attempt to make the home comfortable. Due to this, your HVAC is working harder to keep up.

All of this is leaving the homeowner battling hot and cold spots throughout the home and high energy bills as their heating and cooling unit try to keep up.

Solution

To address the homeowner’s concerns, we began by removing the existing insulation. This gave us a clean canvas to work with and gave easy access to seal all the holes such as top plates, wire and plumbing holes, light fixture housings, and bath fans.

Since the attic is home to ductwork, we installed storage decking that allows access to the unit, provides some storage space for the customer, and still insulates. We then built a dam around the walkway to prevent insulation from spilling over.

Finally, we installed PVs to prevent insulation from falling in front of the soffit vents or drifting from airflow. Then we blew in a fresh blanket of R-38 cellulose insulation. Cellulose is made of 85% recycled material and 15% new material. Because the particles are so fine, the material nests well with itself offering a higher R-value per inch when compared to fiberglass insulation. The cellulose also addresses the concern with the ductwork being subjected to the extreme temperatures of the attic because the duct lines can be buried in the insulation.

This solution has resulted in more even temperatures throughout the home and in turn, lower energy bills for the homeowners.

If you have hot and cold spots in your home or high energy bills, contact The Drying Co. We will send one of our experts out for a free inspection. They will develop a plan with you that meets your home comfort and energy efficiency needs.