Insulating the attic in your Austin, TX home is a great way to lower your carbon footprint and reduce your energy bills. The right attic insulation will create a tight and efficient home envelope. In Austin’s hot, humid climate, it can also decrease indoor moisture and limit your risk of mildew and mold. But which insulation type is the best choice?
Types of Insulation
There are several popular types of insulation for attics:
- Blown-in fiberglass insulation
- Blown-in cellulose insulation
- Pre-cut rolls
- High-performance spray foam insulation
Of these four, spray foam insulation is the top choice for Austin attics.
Why Spray Foam Is the Best Choice for Austin
When it comes to sealing, moisture control, and temperature regulation, spray foam offers superior performance. With this type of attic insulation, you’ll have virtually no air leaks. During the summer months, you can keep hot, outdoor air out and cool, conditioned air trapped in.
Sealing air leaks with spray foam insulation also ensures that your attic isn’t taking in humidity. Having excess moisture at the topmost portion of your home can lead to wet and warped building materials as well as accelerated roof aging. It can also add moisture to the air in lower, livable spaces.
Spray foam insulation is naturally resistant to mold and moisture. This contributes to a long lifespan and healthy indoor air quality (IAQ). Spray foam insulation also has a high R-value. R-value denotes the heat-flow-resistance of insulating materials. Closed-cell spray foam has the highest R-values of all insulating material types.
Another significant benefit of spray foam insulation is its sound-dampening effects. With spray foam, you can reduce outside noise pollution and keep more of your own noise inside.
What Are the Drawbacks of Spray Foam Insulation?
All construction materials have both benefits and drawbacks. While spray foam insulation is the most beneficial choice for Austin attics, it’s also the costliest. Unlike pre-cut rolls, spray foam requires professional installation for best results.
What’s a Good Alternative to Spray Foam Insulation?
Although spray foam is the best choice for Austin attics, there’s a decent mid-range alternative for homeowners with modest budgets. Blown-in cellulose offers impressive coverage at an affordable cost. Unlike pre-cut rolls, it also works well in uneven areas, tight corners, and odd-shaped spaces.
If cost is your main concern, you can get acceptable performance from blown-in fiberglass and fiberglass batts. These entry-level insulation types are solid basic choices. Of the two, blown-in fiberglass will provide the best coverage. Like blown-in cellulose, blown-in fiberglass can fit into tight corners in homes with steep roof slopes and odd-shaped spaces. In comparison, fiberglass batts require precise cuts and can leave significant gaps in coverage.
Why They Don’t Measure Up to Spray Foam
Spray foam’s superior sealing makes it ideal for both moisture and humidity control. In Austin, excess humidity is a major concern. While fiberglass and cellulose can tighten home envelopes and increase efficiency, they could become virtually useless if they are wet. Both fiberglass and cellulose can lose as much as 40% of their insulating abilities when saturated. Worse still, given that attics tend to harbor moisture for extended periods, their insulating abilities rarely return in full.
Wet insulation can develop pervasive mold and mildew problems that eventually require replacement. Mold growth in attic insulation can weaken the structural integrity of homes. It can also send spores into livable areas and cause serious health issues among building residents by harming indoor air quality and creating an unhealthy environment.
Find the Right Insulating Materials for Your Budget
When insulating attics in Austin, homeowners must think beyond temperature control. Spray-in foam is the superior choice for the region, but installers may use blown-in materials for select spaces to optimize coverage.
If you need new attic insulation but don’t have the budget for spray foam, consider your options for:
- Lender and contractor financing
- Efficiency-related tax credits
- Home efficiency rebates
- Home energy assistance programs
It’s also important to account for the ongoing energy savings that spray foam provides. With lower home energy bills, improved indoor air quality, and a healthier living space overall, this is an investment that could pay for itself over time.
Totally Cool Heating & Air offers and installs high-quality attic insulation. We also provide IAQ support and comprehensive environmental assessments. With over 40 years of experience, we’ve proudly served the region since 1982. If you need new attic insulation in Austin, call Totally Cool Heating & Air now.
