SuperAttic™ Installation to Combat Ice Dams in North Adams, MA
Challenge
Vented attics are hostile places (-30°F in the winter and 125°F in the summer). They are very bad places to store things, and the worst place to locate ducts because they are the extreme opposite temperature as the air in the ducts that you paid to heat or cool. The attic floor (your ceilings), allow air form inside the house to leak into attic where it is lost. For each cubic foot of air that leaks out, a cubic foot of air from the outside enters the bottom of the house, making your lower levels cold and drafty. Heat from the house in the attic melts snow on the roof where it refreezes at the eaves causing destructive ice damming. In the summer, the sun heats your roof to 160°F, which radiates to the attic and then to your ceilings and rooms. Results - major heat loss to the attic from the house and ducts in the winter, heat gain in the summer, uncomfortable rooms, more drafts upstairs and downstairs, higher fuel/electric bills.
Solution
SilverGlo™ EPS foam insulation board with graphite is installed on the underside of the roof deck. The graphite gives it superior R-value and a foil face on both sides reflects heat out in summer and back in during winter. The roof is still vented, kept cold in winter to prevent ice damming. In summer, excess heat is vented out. No harsh chemicals are sprayed in your home, like spray foam. The attic is now part of the conditioned space in the home, and ducts in the attic are no longer in a hostile environment. The attic is clean, less dusty and suitable for storage. Now the attic can even be finished! Results - the home is less drafty, warmer in winter and cooler in summer, lower energy bills, and less dust.
