Energy Efficient Attic Insulation in Baltimore

Air Sealing Attic Spaces

Attic air sealing prevents airflow between your interior living space and your attic. Proper air sealing helps heated and cooled air stay inside the home by closing the gaps that leak air. Think of air sealing like closing a window before running air conditioning—why condition the interior air if you are going to let it sneak out through a gap in your home’s envelope?

Your home may have leaks that are easily spotted with a visual inspection. It likely has many other holes in its envelope that can’t be easily seen such as those found around light boxes, plumbing stacks, soffit drops, basement box sills, and other places.

If you are remodeling or building a new home, we recommend insulating top plates (also known as the upper wall plate or ceiling plate), which isn’t something that can be seen or accessed in an existing home. By sealing top plates, you can reduce air transfer from conditioned living spaces to unconditioned attic spaces.

Insulating Your Attic

When upgrading to good attic insulation in existing homes, blown-in fiberglass is added on top of existing insulation using one of the products listed below. This adds R-value to the home and creates a fresh new blanket of protection.

Even newer homes can benefit from upgraded insulation. As building codes become more stringent, nearly all homes need more insulation to ensure they are meeting current standards.

Open Cell Spray Foam

Open cell spray foam attic insulation works as an insulator and air barrier. The average R-value of open cell foam is 3.6 to 4.45 per inch. Here are some other features of open cell spray foam attic insulation:

• It is vapor permeable
• Is able to accommodate seasonal movement
• Is not a food source for mold
• Dampens sound

Closed Cell Spray Foam

As with open cell spray foam insulation, closed cell spray foam also works as both an insulator and air barrier. The Typical R-value of closed cell foam is 7 per inch. Other features of closed cell spray foam insulation are:

• Closed cell foam insulation is denser and therefore insulates better throughout your home.
• High R-value, which offers an added layer of protection to heat flow.
• Ideal for many different areas of your home, especially the hard-to-reach areas such as attic doors, tight corners, etc. of your basement.
• While other insulation materials may lose their effectiveness over time, closed cell spay foam does not.