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Many people wonder, "Is hot temperature in my attic bad for my home?" In short, the answer is yes. Hot temperatures in your attic can damage your home. They can also make it harder to control the temperature in the rest of the house.
How hot is too hot? What is the best way to achieve cooler air in your attic, especially during the summer months? Let's find out.
The hotter your attic is, the harder it is to cool the rest of your living space. And, not surprisingly, the colder your attic is, the harder it's going to be to heat your living space.
An HVAC system housed in the attic has to work extra hard to compensate for extra toasty conditions. Even if your HVAC equipment is in the basement or a downstairs closet, most homes have ductwork in the attic, so the ambient temperature there still has a major impact on the efficiency of the HVAC system.
Hot air rises to the attic space and will be lost to the outside air or trapped under the roof if proper ventilation and insulation are not present. The better control you can get over the temperature of the attic, the easier it will be to maintain a comfortable climate inside of your home.
Here are just a few of the problems that can arise from too high temperatures in your attic:
If you've noticed that no matter what you do with your AC, you can't keep your home's temperature at the right level and your energy bill is way higher than it should be, there's a good chance you have an overly hot attic.
So, how hot should your attic be?
Ideally, the attic temperature should be close to the outside temperature, give or take 10 to 20 degrees. If your attic temperature is getting to 130 degrees or hotter, you can expect to see damage to your home. An attic can easily surpass this target in warm climates, getting as high as 160 degrees in the summer.
If you live in a warmer climate like Texas, you'll want to ensure your attic is adequately ventilated and insulated. By doing that, you will protect your home and reduce energy bills.
The cost of controlling the climate in your attic can be prohibitively high, but you can also reduce heat transfer in an effective way without having to take a second mortgage on your house.
Ultimately, there are three main benefits to installing an adequate insulation system in your attic—comfort, control, and cost savings.
You've worked hard to create a home you love, and you deserve to be comfortable in it. An overheated attic can cause damage to your home and drive up energy bills. It could be hard to enjoy the home you love with problems like this.
If you're concerned that the temperature in your attic is too high, an energy audit will help you see where you're underutilizing opportunities to control the heat in your home and identify ways you can save money on your electric bills. Energy Attic can assess your home's energy efficiency and discuss the benefits of a radiant barrier system with you.