CHATTANOOGA Blog

3 Reasons You Should Care About the Stack Effect in the Summer

The summer season is great for many reasons here in the Tennessee Valley, but the heat and humidity aren’t among them. The days can get really hot outside and all you want to do is stay indoors in front of a fan or even your open fridge.

If your home is well-insulated, it can be an oasis on a hot summer’s day. If it’s not, you may be suffering through something called the “stack effect” in your home, and it could be creating an uncomfortable living environment throughout your entire house. We explain why the stack effect matters in summer below, so read on to learn more!

What Does the Stack Effect Do in the Summer?

As we discussed in an earlier blog post, the stack effect is all about air movement caused by thermal differences. As warm air rises in the cooler months, it creates a pressure difference that pulls cooler air into the lower levels and creates this vicious cycle of chilly air.

In the summer, this cycle is reversed. Hot air sneaks its way into your upper levels and forces its way down into your living areas. This causes a whole host of problems for you and your family!

It Makes Your Home or Business Really Warm

This column of air will always be made up of uncomfortably warm temperatures as it travels through your home. Warm air will flow down, which will be replaced up above by warm air, which will continue to happen until the problem is fixed. You will wind up having hot and humid rooms all over your home since your HVAC system will not be able to keep up.

It Invites Mold or Mildew

If your home is constantly humid or the air in your attic is excessively hot, it can encourage mold or mildew to grow. An efficient home has a moderate amount of humidity in the air, but too much can lead to mold infestations and even water damage if your window sills or walls are constantly condensing.

It Strains Your HVAC System

Having all of this hot air all of the time is a huge strain on your HVAC system. It will constantly be working to cool down the air in your home only for that air to be replaced by more hot air drafting down from your attic and upper levels. This is not only a wear on your equipment, but it also leads to unnecessarily high energy bills.

What to Do About It

Call our Koala team, of course! We can add new insulation to your attic space to help keep the hot air outside where it belongs, and we can seal up any drafts or air leaks as well.

We can also install a solar attic fan that will help pull this hot air out of your home and will replace it with the cooler, drier air that you and your home both deserve.

Is your house really hot all the time? Contact us today at Koala Insulation of Chattanooga.