Insulating a home in south Texas is the best way to keep the heat from creeping in and forcing your air conditioner to work overtime. There are several important areas to insulate, starting right at the slab.
Exterior Walls
Exterior walls in older homes often have no insulation or very light insulation. If you are doing a remodel, new batting can be put right into the wall cavities. It is more likely that you will have to use a loose fill or spray foam to get the cavities filled. This usually requires the services of a professional, who will do this from the exterior of your home by drilling through the sheeting.
Cathedral Ceiling
Cathedral ceilings are a common design element in Texas, partly because they allow hot air to rise up out of the living spaces. They are built with 2-by-12 lumber spaced perfectly to accommodate a standard roll of R-30 insulation. Foil-backed batting is a step up that creates a reflective barrier to keep heat from entering the interior of a home. Add rigid foam under the rafters to prevent radiant heat transfer through the wooden frame. Again, this is often not a DIY job.
Ductwork
If your ductwork runs through an unconditioned portion of your home, such as an attic, crawl space or garage, check it for leaks, and seal any spots that you can easily reach. Then contact a professional to access hard-to-reach areas. After making sure the ductwork in those areas is sealed, your professional can insulate your ductwork.
The Attic
The attic is the most important place to insulate. An uninsulated attic space can reach temperatures of 150 degrees or higher. This heat radiates straight through the attic floor to the ceiling of the rooms below. Talk with your HVAC-system professional about a radiant heat barrier, which can reflect the heat away from your living space.
Learn more about properly insulating a home by contacting the experts at CCAC. We have been offering affordable home-comfort solutions to homeowners in the Coastal Bend area for more than 30 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Corpus Christi, Texas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about insulation and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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