PEARLAND Blog

Understanding The Stack Effect: How Heat Loss is Increasing Your Bills

What is the Stack Effect?

Early on in school, many of us learn the simple fact that heat rises. The basic definition of the stack effect is the upward movement of warm air in a building. When the heat in your home rises, it can escape through any poorly insulated areas around your ceiling and through the roof.

This is what makes the material in your attic so important: it’s one of the first lines of defense against heat loss and the negative impact of the stack effect. The primary function of insulation is to improve temperature regulation and help maintain climate control. The material reduces heat transfer, which is the rate at which heat can enter and exit a structure.

Your home is most susceptible to the impact of the stack effect during the colder months of the year. As you’re attempting to heat up your home to maintain a comfortable temperature, desired warmth will escape upward through places with poor coverage or old, damaged, and deteriorated insulation. Cold air then replaces the warmth, increasing your chances of experiencing more discomfort, drafts, and uneven temperatures. On top of an uncomfortable environment, you’re also putting more strain on the HVAC unit to continuously heat the house, significantly increasing your energy bills and maintenance needs.

Checking for Warning Signs

A significant mistake made by many homeowners is continuously raising the temperature on the thermostat. They simply blame the bad weather outside for the extreme temperatures in their home. If you begin to struggle to maintain a climate-controlled environment, experience poor indoor air quality, or notice higher bills, it's more likely that deteriorated insulation and air sealing are the culprits.

Luckily, inspecting the insulation in your attic is a simple task that most homeowners can accomplish. Evaluating the current condition of your home’s material can provide you with a better idea of what’s causing these problems. It’s important to remember to grab the following tools and safety gear beforehand to ensure a safer inspection:

• A dust mask, gloves, and safety glasses
• A cap or hard hat for low ceiling and joist risks
• A flashlight or headlamp
• A tape measure

Before stepping into the attic, take a look around for beams that you can walk on. Most attics don't have floorboards or walkways that can hold a person’s weight, so you risk falling through the ceiling if you don’t move around carefully. Be mindful of your foot placements.

Start by inspecting the insulation in between the ceiling joists, then the material along the floor. Taking your tape measurer, measure the depth of the insulation to determine the current R-value. If you have batt insulation installed, the R-value per inch of depth is typically printed on the material or covering.

The R-Value of Your Insulation

One of the most important factors of your home’s insulation is the R-value of its material. This is the numerical measurement of the insulation’s ability to reduce the rate of heat transfer. Typically, a higher R-value per inch means that the insulation is more effective at decreasing the heat loss with less material. However, over time, this effectiveness deteriorates. Although some insulation types can potentially last up to 15 years, damages from moisture, pests, and even general wear can increase the rate of deterioration, making it crucial for you to regularly inspect and evaluate the material.

While calculating R-value is a general concept, it's important to remember that there are different insulation materials and types, which each have different R-values. For example, blown-in cellulose is a common installation choice for the floor of your attic while fiberglass batts are typically installed in between the ceiling joists. Blown-in cellulose has an average R-value of 3.4 per inch while fiberglass batts can range from 3.1 to 3.7 per inch. As you're checking the R-value, you may see some areas that may appear "deflated" or sunken, which indicates a reduced total R-value.

As a homeowner, you may already be under the assumption that the insulation with the highest R-value should be the go-to choice for your home. However, instead of choosing insulation material solely based on the R-value, it’s important to remember that there are a number of benefits and applications for each material. The resistance value is merely one feature - moisture resistance, fire safety, and even the effectiveness in certain climates are all additional advantages to consider when keeping your home’s needs in mind.

Maintaining Your Attic Insulation

The insulation installed in your attic is one of the most important areas to have regularly inspected and updated in order to reduce the problems caused by things like the stack effect. While strong material is effective at reducing heat loss in the winter, this insulation also helps to decrease the invasion of heat during summer to help keep your house cooler and more comfortable. Proper insulation and air sealing can help to reduce up to 40% of your regular heating and cooling costs if the material is effectively installed with quality coverage.

Your potential for savings will depend on a number of factors due to the fact that your home will have specialized needs. Your house is unique in comparison to the other buildings in your state, region, and even the neighborhood in some cases. Variables like climate zone, weather patterns, and even your regular household habits are all areas to consider. For example, southern climates typically suffer more during the summer because of incoming heat and stifling temperatures. Consulting an industry professional is highly recommended in order to accurately assess the house’s insulation needs based on climate, natural hazards, and more.

How Can You Reduce The Problem of The Stack Effect?

At Koala Insulation of Pearland, we understand that most insulation and air sealing facts aren't common knowledge. However, we want to help bring the right information to you and your household so you can make informed decisions without worrying about managing your schedule and budget. Our free evaluations can help you break down the current condition of your home's insulation and air sealing while also finding the right cost-effective and energy-efficient solutions for your house needs. Contact Koala Insulation of Pearland today to learn more about our evaluations.