To make sure you keep your house as energy-efficient and comfortable as possible, you need to implement attic-sealing strategies. These will help to keep your attic at a moderate temperature and prevent moisture from accumulating, two problems that decrease your home’s efficiency.

When the temperature in your attic gets extremely high or low, several bad things can happen: conditioned air can seep into your attic (and therefore out of the living spaces you’re trying to keep cool/warm), or the heat can cause your HVAC system to become overworked. Additionally, the excess moisture can cause mold to grow, which can significantly damage your house. The mold can also become airborne and circulate in your air system, posting a serious health hazard. Luckily, the following attic-sealing strategies help you with all of these problems.

• Ensure proper ventilation in your attic: Ventilation allows for air to circulate naturally, maintaining a moderate temperature while keeping moisture out. By replacing the panels over your soffits with ridged vents, you can create airflow while still keeping the elements out.
• Utilize proper insulation: Use this map to figure out what the appropriate amount of insulation should be for your southwest Virginia home. This will prevent heat from transferring in, which can affect your home’s efficiency. You can also insulate your ducts to keep the air inside them at a stable temperature.
• Fix any leaks in your roof: Weatherproofing will prevent the outside moisture from seeping into your attic. Flashing, a type of weatherstripping usually made of sheet metal, is particularly effective, cost-efficient, and easy to use.
• Seal up any gaps into the attic: If air can easily flow from the attic to your house and vice versa, you will have a hard time maintaining your HVAC system’s efficiency, and you’ll lose money to boot. To prevent this, seal off common spots where this occurs, such as around ductwork, lighting fixtures, wiring, plumbing and attic entryways.

For more advice on attic-sealing strategies that will help you keep your utility bills down, or for help in implementing them, contact the professionals at New River Heating and Air. We have proudly served the New River Valley area since 1986.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

New River Heating and Air services the New River Valley area in Virginia. To get started, check out our website or see our current specials.