How To Insulate Upper Floors From Rising Heat
Temporary barriers easily removed in the spring keep warm air where you are most active in the home.
How to insulate upper floors from rising heat. When the floor is above an unheated crawl space install insulation between the floor joists. Formulate a game plan to winterize your home from the attic to the basement starting with the upper floors and working downward. An excellent move is to insulate the ceiling. 4c as an alternative to floor insulation foundation walls of unvented crawl spaces.
Insulate the attic and windows of your home if the temperature differences are problematic. Also insulate 4a any portion of the floor in a room that is cantilevered beyond the exterior wall below. Unfortunately in old homes this is a common place for heat to escape so it s worth thinking about how insulation can make them more thermally efficient hold heat for longer and protect your home from damp. You can even air seal your attic to prevent heat from seeping in.
Seal off those upstairs rooms in the winter to keep the heat from rising and make your utility bills more manageable. Add extra insulation to your roof and attic. Hot air rises after all and it would be a pity to waste the warm air you are paying for your hvac system to produce by losing it through the ceiling. This is especially important in the winter months when drafts can make a cold downstairs level feel even colder.
4b slab floors built directly on the ground. Reduce use of lights and appliances avoid generating additional heat upstairs. 4d extend insulation into joist space to reduce air flows. Also adding an attic fan will help cool things down by circulating the air up there and decreasing the amount of hot air reaching your second floor.
Make sure heated or cooled air cannot escape anywhere and consider replacing the windows if they are very old and leaky.