Insulating and Air Sealing Low-Pitch Residential Attic Spaces: Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation PDF

Rising energy costs and attractive incentive programs established by the government and/or energy companies continue to fuel the need and desire to increase the energy efficiency of residential homes. Air sealing and insulating attic spaces remains one of the best opportunities to attain these energy-efficiency improvements.

Low-pitch attics, though, present unique challenges to effectively insulate and air seal them, especially in retrofit situations where the rafter/truss design is fixed and space constraints exist at the perimeter of the structure. The perimeter space constraints limit accessibility to these areas as well as restrict the amount of insulation that can be installed.

This paper quantitatively and qualitatively summarizes the cost-effectiveness of various solutions for sealing and insulating attics under low-pitch roofs, with an emphasis on evaluating solutions in areas with space constraints.

Insulation and air sealing materials as well as methods for installing those materials were evaluated in a laboratory setting to determine the cost-effectiveness of each method. In addition to the cost versus benefit of each insulating/air sealing solution, the practicality of each approach is compared.

Presented at Thermal Performance of Exterior Envelopes of Whole Buildings XII, December 2013