Any unintentional gap /hole in your ceiling creates air movement, air exchanges, is unintentional thermal transfer. Meaning your home is loosing heat in winter, and gaining heat in summer.
A complete pressure barrier (winter cap) of the homes top floor is essential to preventing heat escape.
The can lights puncture the drywall and create ( open windows ) for heat to push its way through and reach the attic vents and go straight to the exterior.
The can lights box trim have little holes where heat passes through.
This causes you to literally heat the outside in winter with your paid gas from your furnace.
Air Sealing Can Lights can be performed with a few different sealants, drywall, rockwool, mineral wool covers and or course retrofitting existing bulbs with Recessed Lighting Trims that stop air leaks.
DIY Can light covers are challenging in two ways, one is maintaining a true tight seal around the light so it no longer leaks, and the other is accessibility of the can lights.
Green Attic uses drywall to created air tight fireproof boxes around existing can lights to stop air leaks from the conditioned living space. Air sealing the attic floor is the first step in fixing problems around the home created by stack effect from leaking pressure barrier of the conditioned space.
Older can lights require a minimum distance around the light housing to prevent a fire. Lights should be replaced with cooler burning bulbs ( older bulbs run around 200-250 degrees Fahrenheit, while new bulbs run much cooler around 100-125 degress Fahrenheit.
Can light covers are placed over each can light using drywall and one part spray foam around the seams to create a perfect air seal and prevent heat escape in winter to the attic and outside.
Each can light must be properly sealed to prevent heat escape ( heat rising from the conditioned space).
The combination of sealed plumbing, hvac, chimney, bypass, and electrical penetrations with sealed can lights creates a properly sealed attic floor. Now we can focus on fresh air balanced intake and exhaust ( ventilation.)
Can light covers are placed over each existing can light on the top floor of the home which is in direct contact with the attic using drywall and one part spray foam around the seams to create a perfect air seal and prevent heat escape in winter to the attic and outside.
Yes. There are dissimilar materials that may cause unintentional leakage in the basement, and since it is accessible in most homes, it is a priority for us secondary to attic air sealing. Any work you have done inside your home could be less efficient if your basement is not properly sealed. Air sealing is supplemental to insulation. A free energy assessment where we use our thermal cameras to track heat movement will clear up any questions.
While wall insulation may be effective, it is installed between stud cavities, so that does not prevent air movement, air infiltration, and unintentional air leakage around the seams of the framing such as the top plates and bottom plates. Air Sealing is done on framing seams in new construction with energy efficient standards. In existing homes, there are methods to improve the building envelope to prevent drafty homes.
This is the bypass of the hallway and bedrooms. These gaps allow paid conditioned air escape creating a list of preventable problems.
Preventable problems include
Air Sealing leaks around penetrations in the home is the first and most cost effective step to reducing drafty homes.
Draftiness can be measured in air exchanges in the conditioned space.
Keeping the house snug and tight is commonly referred to as weatherproofing your home. This includes blocking drafts around windows, doors, and plugging cracks and gaps created by pipes, hoses, and exhausts.
Once the home is protected from drafty wind pressure from the exterior, you can begin to focus on air quality and air exchange improvements from the interior.
Shielding the home from wind pressure is essential to reducing “cold walls” in winter, air exchanges of heated ( paid for conditioned air.) Even if insulation is between studs, draftiness can still occur from wind pressure forcing cold outside air into the walls of through exterior seams. Once the air is in the walls, it move by path of least resistance to the first available opening such as an outlet or seam where the floor and walls meet.
It is essential to start by sealing the gaps around the outside of the home, this will return your time and material investment many times over.
A costly error is referred to in the real estate industry as ” topping off insulation.” When the home inspector finds mold typically the process. is to treat the mold and not the CAUSE of the mold.
We often find mold growing on the sheathing of well insulated attics, because loose fill fiberglass does not stop air movement or heat escape from the living space. Without air sealing the attic floor, the heat will still rise and meet cold winter air from passive ventilation leaving food for mold growth in the form of warm air turning to condensation. The solution is air seal attic floor, baffles and vapor barrier around attic parameter, proper ventilation, and adequate insulation.
Condensation can lead to mold and mildew problems. In hot, humid climates, moisture can enter into wall cavities through exterior cracks and result in costly damage to framing and insulation. In cold climates, gaps in the interior walls allow moisture from warm indoor air to enter wall cavities and attics. This moisture can condense on cold surfaces and lead to structural damage.
By significantly reducing air leakage, you can reduce or eliminate these problems
A tighter building envelope reduces the amount of unconditioned air, drafts, noise, and moisture that enter your home. Proper air sealing will also minimize temperature differences between rooms. As a result, tight envelopes can maintain a more consistent level of comfort throughout a house.
This is the main reason to air seal your home. A house works a lot like a smoke stack. Hot air rises through the house until it exits in the attic. If you seal off a smoke stack at the top, the bottom, or both, you don’t have a smoke stack. In air-sealing a house we are trying to stop the stack effect as much as we can.
An unzipped winter coat doesn’t work very well because it allows air around your body, which makes you cold. An insulated house can also perform poorly if air can get in. There is not a consensus, but nearly half of the energy leakage in a house can be caused by air leakage – that costs a lot of money!
Air leakage accounts for 25 percent to 40 percent of the energy used for heating and cooling and also reduces the effectiveness of other energy efficiency measures such as increased insulation and high-performance windows. By investing a little more money into the improvement of your home, you will effectively be putting more money back into your pocket for years to come.
Air sealing the attic floor is the solution to the problem. Air sealing the attic floor prevents air movement upward to the attic by pressurizing the living space.
The evidence of heat loss to the attic is here along the trim. Skin dust and hair collect from the living space occupants and is pulled up through the house as heat rises.
Replace broken caulk inside and outside around the window frame. Misguided ( maybe well meaning ) advertisements recommend replacing your windows to make your home more comfortable. This is misleading, and cause a waste of good windows, money, time, and energy to replace them instead of simply re-caulking exterior seams, and touching up interior trim doors and windows caulk.
HEAT RISES AND ESCAPES TO THE TOP OF THE HOME OUT THE SEAMS SUCKING IN REPLACEMENT AIR ( PASCALS LAW).
We Provide Quality Services.
You will receive an instant follow up email and a customer service representative will be able to confirm your appointment.
Our roofing experts will consult you about what is the best option for your house and provide a detailed quote.
Our team of technicians have the most advanced tools and equipment and use the most efficient techniques in the industry.
After all the steps are done the single thing you can do is to wonder how could you live without your new roof before. Enjoy
If you are looking for a company that couples outstanding work with outstanding customer service, then Green Attic Insulation is who you should definitely call. I truly wish I would have called them years ago as I have been putting off suspected issues that centered around extreme temperature fluctuations between winter and summer, along with poor ventilation, within my attic.
Theo James
James is prompt, thorough, and personable -- responded to my website inquiry right away and made it easy to schedule an appointment (still haven't heard back from the competition -- that was three days ago). He provided a detailed and professional quote within minutes of being on site and saved me from spending $20k on an unnecessary new roof! I'm glad I contacted Green Attic.
Emilia Munro
Highly recommend! Green Attic is thorough, responsive, and professional. Although it has only been a month since we had the work done, the results are clear. Our house is more comfortable, while our gas consumption is down ~30% and electricity is down ~25%.
Branden Griffiths
We Focus On Air Quality, Comfort, and Energy Efficiency
WE ARE NOT HAPPY UNTIL YOU ARE HAPPY
Fully Licensed and Insured
| Model | Total Rebates | Program Name |
|---|---|---|
|
FLEXX24HP230V1AH |
$1,300 |
BayREN Home Plus Program - $1,000 Federal Tax Credit - Air Source Heat Pump - $300 |
|
FLEXX36HP230V1AH |
$1,000 |
BayREN Home Plus Program - $1,000 |
|
FLEXX36HP230V1AO |
$1,000 |
BayREN Home Plus Program - $1,000 |
|
FLEXX48HP230V1AH |
$1,000 |
BayREN Home Plus Program - $1,000 |
|
FLEXX24HP230V1BH |
$800 |
BayREN Home Plus Program - $800 |
|
FLEXX36AC230V1AO |
$800 |
BayREN Home Plus Program - $800 |
|
FLEXX36HP230V1BH |
$800 |
BayREN Home Plus Program - $800 |
|
FLEXX48HP230V1BH |
$800 |
BayREN Home Plus Program - $800 |
|
FLEXX60HP230V1BH |
$800 |
BayREN Home Plus Program - $800 |
|
FLEXX60AC230V1AO |
$800 |
BayREN Home Plus Program - $800 |
