Attic Insulation & Air Sealing | Home Energy Contractors

Why Allergy Symptoms Continue Indoors in Spring

2026-05-13T00:00:00.05Z

If your allergy symptoms don’t improve indoors, your attic could be part of the problem. Many homes allow outside air—and the pollutants it carries—to enter from above, where gaps and leaks often go unnoticed.

How Allergens Build Up Indoors

Homes are not airtight. Air moves in and out constantly.

Common entry points include:

Gaps around windows and doors
Attic penetrations and recessed lighting
Crawl spaces and basements
Leaky ductwork

As outdoor air enters, it carries pollen and other irritants. Over time, these particles settle and continue circulating throughout the home.

Why Air Sealing Is Important

Air sealing reduces the amount of allergens entering your home

Closing gaps and sealing air leaks in a home has many benefits. The process can:

Limit pollen and dust infiltration
Reduce moisture that can contribute to mold
Improve the effectiveness of HVAC and filtration systems

Even after sealing major entry points, some airborne particles remain—this is where air purification makes a difference.

Why Allergy Sufferers Should Consider the Aspen Air Purifier

The Aspen Air Purifier is designed to remove a range of common indoor pollutants using a three-stage filtration system:

Allergy filter captures larger particles such as pollen, pet dander, mold, and dust
Activated carbon filter reduces odors and gases, including VOCs, smoke, and household chemicals
Microparticle HEPA filter removes 99.97% of particles down to 0.1 microns, including fine particulates like smoke, bacteria, and smog

The unit is built for continuous use and can cover up to 1,500 square feet. Filters slide out for easy replacement, and its portability allows it to be used in different areas of the home.

Used alongside air sealing, it helps lower the overall concentration of airborne allergens indoors.

The Aspen Air Purifier uses mechanical filtration only. It does not rely on ionizers, ozone generators, or UV-based systems, so it does not introduce ozone or other byproducts into the air. This allows it to operate continuously without adding anything unwanted to the indoor environment.

It is also designed with efficiency in mind. The unit uses an EC fan motor that adjusts output as needed and consumes significantly less electricity than a standard AC fan. Because lower fan speeds are most often used, the energy savings are noticeable in everyday operation.

For homeowners considering an Aspen system, working with Attic Systems helps ensure the unit is properly sized and placed within the home. Setup and airflow matter, and correct installation plays a role in overall performance.

Schedule Your Appointment Today & Get the Right Solution in Place

Experience year-round comfort with the Aspen Air Purifier

If spring allergies are an issue in your home, focus on two things: sealing the house and cleaning the air.

Attic Systems can evaluate where your home is leaking air, recommend the right sealing approach, and help you choose an Aspen system that fits your space.

If you’re ready to improve your indoor air, schedule an evaluation and get a plan in place.

Take Advantage of the Home Energy Efficiency Tax Credit Before It Ends

2025-10-15T00:00:00.05Z

Homeowners looking to improve the comfort and efficiency of their homes have just a short time left to use the Home Energy Efficiency Tax Credit, which expires on December 31, 2025. If your attic is under-insulated you can make upgrades now and still qualify for savings.

Why Focus on the Attic?

Attic insulation doesn’t last forever. Over time, it can settle, become compacted, or even deteriorate due to moisture, pests, or mold. If your attic feels drafty, your energy bills are rising, or you’ve noticed uneven temperatures between floors, your insulation may no longer be doing its job. Homes built more than 10–15 years ago often have outdated or insufficient insulation by today’s standards. Replacing old insulation with modern, high-performance materials not only restores comfort, it also helps your home meet current efficiency benchmarks. It may qualify for the Home Energy Efficiency Tax Credit.

The attic is one of the most common sources of energy loss in the home. Without proper insulation and air sealing, heated and cooled air escapes, resulting in higher utility bills. By addressing your attic, you’ll:

Improve year-round comfort
Reduce your monthly energy costs
Make your home more efficient and healthier

Services That Qualify for the Tax Credit:

Attic Insulation: Adding or upgrading insulation helps your home maintain consistent temperatures.
Air Sealing: Stops drafts and energy loss at their source.

Upgrading your attic insulation and sealing air leaks isn’t just a comfort upgrade; it’s one of the smartest financial moves you can make for your home. These improvements help your HVAC system operate more efficiently, reduce monthly utility bills, and maintain a more consistent indoor climate throughout the year. And right now, they come with a bonus: you may qualify for the Home Energy Efficiency Tax Credit, putting money back in your pocket. Don’t wait until extreme weather or rising energy costs force your hand; take control now, and make your home more efficient, valuable, and comfortable before the credit expires

Act Before the Deadline

Take advantage of this tax credit now, before it’s too late! After December 31, 2025, this credit will no longer be available. Don’t wait! Schedule your free attic inspection and estimate with your local Attic Systems dealer today.

What's Better (First): Solar, High-Efficiency Furnace, or Air Sealing and Insulation?

2024-12-26T00:00:00.05Z

Want to improve your home's comfort and energy efficiency? Discover the home upgrade that has the biggest return on investment!

When it comes to the best bang for your buck (greatest savings for the money spent), which is better? Solar panels on your roof, upgrading to a high-efficiency furnace, or air sealing the big leaks in your house and insulating your attic properly? I am highly qualified to answer this question for you. If you want to skip the technical explanations, just go to the last sentence.

Solar

While they have their benefits, solar panels are a significant investment and can be expensive and tedious to maintain.

I own five large solar installations (on 4 of our 14 buildings and on my home). I love the idea of getting free electricity from the sun. BUT, there are many issues. First, it’s expensive. Spending $20,000 or $35,000 is a lot. But what about the financing — the cost of the money if you don’t pay cash? A solar salesman won’t explain that you will pay more for interest on a 25-year mortgage for the solar than you will for the solar.

The Rule of 72 says that the amount of time it takes to double your money is the interest rate divided into 72. So at 10% interest on a mortgage for your solar panels, you will pay as much for interest as you will for the solar in just 7.2 years at 10% if you were only paying interest. Now, you are paying part of the principal each payment, but the loan is for a lot longer than 7.2 years. You have to save enough on electricity to pay for the panels AND all that interest. By that time the panels will be beyond their useful life and stop working.

The next problem is that unless the panels are facing directly south at just the right angle with no trees (ever) around to shade the panels, they will not produce at their stated capacity. That’s easy to understand. Still, you see panels on opposite sides of roofs all the time. East and west side? Not good. So, your payback is way longer.

The next problem is your roof. Roofs need to be replaced every 25 years or so. Sometimes sooner. If you have solar panels, they have to come off, get your new roof, and have the solar panels reinstalled. By the time you pay for all that, you will probably never save the cost of the panels.

Three feet of heavy snow collapsing your solar array….or the inverter going out and you not noticing your panels are no longer producing for months are other problems. Ask me how I know…

So, the answer to the question posed is NOT solar. Solar is good in principle, don’t get me wrong. But from a practical perspective or a financial one, it’s not the first thing you should do.

How about a high-efficiency furnace?

Installing a high-efficiency furnace offers numerous benefits, including reducing home heating and cooling costs.

A basic furnace like the one in the house you grew up in was about 80% efficient. This means that when it burns fuel like natural gas, it transfers 80% of the heat to the ductwork on its way to the rooms in your house. The other 20% goes up the chimney.

When you have a masonry chimney, you NEED as much heat to go up it. This is because you need to heat the chimney to create an updraft, and you don’t want the combustion gases to cool before they get out of the top of the chimney. Otherwise, they will condense into water and run back down and make a mess. And when winter comes, the water will freeze and crack the masonry apart when the furnace shuts off.

A high-efficiency furnace bumps you up to about 94% efficiency, losing just 6% instead of 20% out of the exhaust. It has a secondary heat exchanger in it to squeeze out all the heat it can from the exhaust, which is now so cool it cannot use a masonry chimney but can use a PVC pipe instead run out of the side of your house at ground level. (In my house, I tore my masonry chimney down once I installed a high-efficiency furnace AND water heater. This made some more space in the basement and rooms upstairs.)

Ok, so we’ve established that we can get 14% more heat to the ductwork if we install a high-efficiency furnace versus an old 80% one. Another advantage of a high-efficiency furnace is that it doesn’t take air from inside the building to combust the fuel and run up the chimney. Instead, it has dedicated intake air through a second PVC pipe from the outside. The advantage here is that it doesn’t depressurize the house by sending air up the chimney. For every cubic foot of air that goes up the chimney, and new cubic foot of air has to leak in the building envelope somewhere to replace it — and this new air is cold and has to be heated.

But, while a high-efficiency furnace is a good idea, it’s still not the number one thing you should do to get the most results for the money spent.

So, what is?

Air Sealing and Insulation

Sealing attic leaks and ducts and installing high-quality cellulose insulation is a cost-effective way to improve your home's energy efficiency and comfort.

When you heat air and send it to the house via the ductwork, the house heats up and satisfies the thermostat, and the furnace shuts off. Well, why does the furnace turn on again minutes later? Answer: because the heat leaked out of the house!

Warm air rises and causes positive pressure between the top of the house and the attic and outside. The warm air leaks out of the top of the house at any holes, leaks, gaps, and seams that it can. This causes negative pressure between the lower parts of the house and the inside. So cold outside air leaks in any holes, joints, or gaps at the bottom of the house.

Besides that, heat moves out molecule by molecule through solid materials that are not insulated well.

Lastly, ducts leak — a lot. The HVAC industry admits that ducts leak a whopping 47% of the air that is forced through them by the fan on the furnace — air you paid to heat. And if the ducts are in the attic, that is the most wasteful kind of leak because the attic is “outside” since it is vented.

If we stop air from leaking out at the top of the house, less air will leak in at the bottom (even if we do nothing at the bottom of the house) because less air needs to be replaced since less leaked out. If we seal and insulate ducts in the attic, it makes a huge difference in the amount of air delivered to the rooms and the temperature of that air.

What are some attic air leaks that need to be sealed? There is a 2” gap all the way around your chimney, can lights in the ceiling, pipe, and wire holes, duct chases, seams between drywall and framing at the top of every wall, the attic hatch, around ceiling fans, and many other potential leaky building assemblies. Knee wall spaces in cape cods and contemporary homes are very problematic, making the adjoining rooms cold in winter and hot in summer.

Once the attic is air-sealed properly, then 17” of cellulose insulation (not fiberglass) is blown in. That’s the amount you need. It’s R60. Most people have R19 or less now.

Air sealing and insulating costs far less than solar or a high-efficiency furnace. The return on investment is far, far higher.

Think about it. If your house is leaky (and ducts are leaky), why spend lots of money on more expensive energy (solar is “free energy,” but costs $35,000 — or some such number plus 25 years of interest, so it is NOT free!) only to waste that more expensive energy on a leaky house? And if heat doesn’t stay in your house very long, why worry about how efficiently you are extracting that heat from the natural gas (or other fuel) you buy? Your furnace may be 80% or 94% efficient, but you are running that heat into 60% efficient ductwork into a 40% efficient house!

Fix the house and the ducts first! That is the answer.

It’s cheaper, faster (one or two days), you’ll save more money and have a higher rate of return, and it will make your home more comfortable with fewer drafts — something the other two options do not do.

Will Insulating My Attic Keep My House Cooler?

2021-08-19T00:00:00.05Z

Yes — attic insulation can significantly help keep your home cooler in the summer by preventing heat from entering your living space through the roof. Keep reading to learn how attic insulation works, its benefits for summer cooling, and why it’s an investment worth considering for your home.

A properly insulated attic can benefit your home in many ways, beyond simply maintaining a comfortable temperature year-round.

Are you tired of sky-high air conditioning bills every summer? The problem may be your attic insulation. While it’s a given that insulation will keep your home warmer during the winter, it also plays a crucial role in keeping your home cool during the hot summer months.

So, how does attic insulation help in the summer? The simple answer is that it prevents heat from entering your home through your roof. Not only does this make your home more comfortable, but it also improves energy efficiency and helps save money on your utility bills.

How Attic Insulation Keeps Your Home Comfortable Year-Round

Insulation in the home, especially in the attic, helps regulate home temperature and reduces the pressure on your heating and cooling systems. In the winter, this means trapping and absorbing the heat from the home's heating system, thereby keeping the warmth from escaping into the chilly outdoors. In summer, however, insulation functions to keep the cold air in and the hot air contained to the attic, where it rises naturally due to "The Stack Effect".

What is The Stack Effect?

The Stack Effect works like this: as gases like oxygen heat up, they naturally expand and rise to the highest possible point as their density decreases. This is why, if you've ever been up to your attic or the top floor of a house on a hot summer day, you'll notice an obvious temperature difference as you head up — no matter how much you run the air conditioner. With the sun beating down on the roofing all day long, the air inside will heat up over time, making the rest of the home uncomfortable. However, if the attic space is properly insulated, that hot air won't get a chance to escape and elevate the overall temperature of your home.

In the end, attic insulation not only helps to keep you warm in the winter, but it also helps to keep the whole home cooler during the hot and sticky summer months.

How Attic Insulation Works

Insulating the attic helps keep your home comfortable year-round!

Attic insulation helps to absorb the heated air that is produced by your heating system during the winter, keeping the warmth inside. In the summer, it prevents hot air from spreading down into your home from the attic, where temperatures can reach extreme levels. Efficient attic insulation helps your air conditioning system run more effectively, allowing you to save on energy costs while also reducing the release of harmful gases into the atmosphere.

To fully understand how insulation works, it's helpful to know the different ways heat travels through your home: conduction, convection, and radiation. Insulation effectively slows or stops heat transfer in all three forms, keeping your home comfortable throughout the year.

Conduction: Heat moves through solid materials, like how a down jacket traps body heat to keep you warm in cold weather. In the summer, heat from the sun warms your roof, which then transfers heat into your home. Insulation slows this process.
Convection: Heat moves through the air. Insulation materials trap air, which helps prevent heat from circulating into your living space. A good example of convection heat is how radiators work in older homes, which function by pushing hot water through metal pipes to warm the air in the room.
Radiation: Heat radiates from a source, like how the sun warms the Earth or fire heats a room. Insulation materials with reflective surfaces (like radiant barriers) help prevent this heat from entering your home.

Types of Attic Insulation

When it comes to how to cool an attic, insulation plays a key role. There are many different types of house insulation available, and it’s important to select the one that best suits your property’s needs and climate.

Blown-In Cellulose Insulation: Made from recycled paper, cellulose insulation is eco-friendly and cost-effective. It has an R-value of R-3.5 to R-4 per inch and is best suited for filling gaps in hard-to-reach areas.
Rigid Foam Insulation: This type of attic insulation offers a high thermal resistance at R-4 to R-6 per inch. It’s also moisture-resistant and durable, making it ideal for climates with extreme temperatures and humid conditions.
Spray Foam Insulation: With an R-value of R-5 to R-6 per inch, this type of attic insulation expands to fill gaps and cracks, making it highly effective for air sealing and insulation in hard-to-reach spaces.
Fiberglass Batt Insulation: One of the most common and affordable solutions, fiberglass insulation provides an R-value of around R-3.2 per inch. While it works well for standard attic spaces, it can leave gaps in irregular areas.
Radiant Barriers: Made of reflective materials, radiant barriers are typically installed in the roof's attic or rafters to reflect heat away from your home. These barriers are particularly effective in hot climates where they reduce the amount of heat entering the attic, keeping your home cooler during the summer.

With so many options, choosing the right insulation for your attic can be tricky. It's always a good idea to consult a professional attic insulation contractor who can assess your home and recommend the best attic insulation tailored to your specific needs.

Benefits Of Attic Insulation In The Summer

There are numerous benefits to insulating the attic besides just helping to keep your home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

Increased Energy Efficiency

By nature of their construction, our homes have tiny gaps and cracks in the building material that inadvertently allow outside air into the home, and for indoor air to escape. These cracks cause your home's cooling system to work harder to compensate, and often you're still left with hot and uncomfortable areas of the home, especially if it's an older construction and a multi-level home. Insulation fills and blocks these cracks and gaps, increasing the home's overall energy efficiency. An added benefit: along with a cooler home in the summer, you'll notice a significant decrease in your energy bills and more money to devote to summer fun!

Increased Home Value

If you've been thinking of listing your home, checking in on your attic insulation could be a good first step. A properly insulated home generally sells for more, allowing you to recoup your investment. You'll also prolong the lifespan of your roof and save on future maintenance costs!

Decreased Carbon Footprint

When you run heating and cooling systems in a home without proper insulation, they have to work twice as hard. This expels harmful chemicals into the atmosphere, increasing the risk of damage to the planet. By properly insulating your home, you decrease the amount that your home's systems have to work to regulate the temperature, thereby decreasing the amount of chemicals released.

Improved Indoor Air Quality

Insulation fills and blocks cracks and gaps in your home that lead to the outdoors, which not only keeps your house cooler in the summer, but also prevents allergens and toxins from getting inside.

Other Ways to Improve Summer Energy-Efficiency

Besides attic insulation, there are other things you can do to improve your home’s overall energy efficiency.

Install Insulation With the Proper R-Value

Ensuring that the attic insulation has the correct R-value is crucial for proper attic insulation.

R-value is an insulating material’s ability to resist heat flow. The higher the R-value, the higher the insulating power of the material. According to the Department of Energy, the R-value of your insulating material should be at least R-30, with thicker layers of insulation reaching higher R-values.

Install an Attic Hatch Cover

The attic hatch is a large hole in the attic floor with a door and an attached, retractable ladder for easy access to the attic space, and it is a common feature in many homes across the world. Usually, access to the attic is through one of these, but the gaps around the attic door frame can cause air to leak through. An attic hatch cover, which can be either a zip-up cover or a removable board, helps block additional air leakage between your attic door and its frame.

Place Insulation In All the Correct Areas

Understanding how to insulate an attic is also essential because it allows you to ensure that insulation is placed in all the right locations to maximize energy efficiency. Key areas to focus on include those around ducts, the attic floor, ceiling, and knee walls. Properly insulating these areas will help adequately cover the attic space, preventing heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer.

Invest In Air Sealing to Eliminate Gaps and Air Leaks

In addition to proper insulation placement, investing in air sealing is crucial for optimal attic performance. Air sealing involves injecting foam into cracks and gaps throughout the home, blocking airflow and preventing drafts. This step ensures that your attic achieves the highest possible level of energy efficiency.

How Much Money Can Insulating an Attic Save You?

High-quality attic insulation can significantly reduce heating and cooling costs. When combined with air sealing, homeowners see an average of 15% in savings. The savings depend on several factors, including the type of insulation, the climate zone, and the insulation in the rest of your home. Whether you’re upgrading an older home or installing insulation for the first time, the long-term savings can quickly offset the initial investment.

Keep Your Home Comfortable This Summer with Attic Insulation

Reach out for a free attic insulation consultation from Attic Systems today!

This summer, invest in proper attic insulation and enjoy the many benefits of energy efficiency for your home and family. Improve the air quality in your home, reduce stress on your AC units, and stay more comfortable in your home throughout the hot summer months with attic insulation.

Attic Systems is a network of highly trained and experienced attic insulation contractors that can help make your home more comfortable and energy-efficient. To get started, find your local Attic Systems contractor and claim your free, no obligation estimate!

Updated July 2025

When Does Attic Insulation Need To Be Replaced?

2021-02-12T00:00:00.05Z

Attic Insulation, when well maintained, can last for decades. However, it's important to know the signs of failing insulation to be able to react accordingly.

Insulation, depending on the material used, can last for decades if properly cared for. Some insulation materials are composed of natural materials and will eventually degrade. Others are made from synthetic material and can last for nearly a century before needing replacement.

Attic insulation is an integral part of the construction of any home. Insulation functions as a way to maintain comfortable living temperatures within a structure by trapping or blocking hot or cold air depending on the season. In the winter, attic insulation keeps the home warm, while in the summer, the insulation blocks out the heat and allows the AC to function effectively, keeping the house cool and comfortable. Due to the necessity of insulation in our daily lives, experts typically recommend that inspections are performed at least once a year.

Common Lifespans of Different Attic Insulation

Depending upon the type of insulation that you choose for your attic space, the length of time that the material will last varies. There are insulation materials made from all sorts of components, both natural and synthetic. Natural materials will inevitably degrade faster than synthetics, and some high grade synthetic materials can last virtually indefinitely if well taken care of.

Fiberglass Insulation--The actual lifespan of this commonly used attic insulation is from 80-100 years. However, due to its construction with natural materials, eventually the product will lose effectiveness. Fiberglass insulation typically needs to be replaced 15-20 years into it’s life, as it can easily become dirty, wet, moldy, and ineffective if there’s a roof leak or water damage of any kind.
Cellulose Insulation--Made from recycled paper, this insulation does a spectacular job of keeping the house temperature controlled. With a lifespan that can last up to 30 years, it’s a green and effective choice. However, it’s rare that cellulose insulation will last it’s entire lifespan, and will likely have to be replaced in half the time. Being made of natural materials, the insulation is vulnerable to water, mold, mildew and pests. The fluffy nature of cellulose makes it an attractive nesting spot, and once pests find a home within the insulation, it must be replaced.
Spray Foam Insulation--Spray foam is an expanding foam insulation. It’s pumped through a machine directly onto the space that needs insulation, rising and spreading rapidly to fill small holes and cracks. Composed of various types of polymers and types of polyurethane, it has the longest lifespan of home insulations. Once the insulation is applied to the walls, it can last virtually forever unless damaged. There are few things that can damage spray foam, but a house fire or punctures to the insulation will necessitate replacement. It will never rot or degrade, and the hardened exterior of the foam once it sets deters pests, so it won’t become infested with bugs or animals.

Older Homes & Insulation: To Replace or Not To Replace

It’s common to find older homes retaining their original insulation. In the past, homeowners used whatever they could get their hands on as insulation, such as shoving newspaper, bottles, tins and old clothing into the walls and along the roofing in an attempt to block out the cold. When proper insulation materials were created, it was a great leap forward for indoor comfort, but it also meant that people didn’t think about their insulation as much anymore. There’s always something to worry about, after all.

When buying a home, inspections should tell you whether or not it’s time to replace your insulation. There are a variety of factors that could influence this choice, such as:

Age of the insulation material.
Presence of moisture or an unresolved roof leak.
Presence of mold and mildew within the attic or on the insulation.
Cleanliness of the insulation material. (Dust, Dirt, etc.)
Current R-value of the insulation material. (Calculated by thickness of the material.)

A professional attic insulation contractor will be able to determine all of these factors for you with a simple insulation inspection.

Finding an Attic Insulation Contractor

Reach out to an Attic Systems dealer in your local area for top of the line service and high-quality insulation materials!

If you’re looking for an attic insulation contractor, look no further than Attic Systems! With over a decade of experience and a network of highly skilled and specially trained insulation contractors across the country, Attic Systems is here for any insulation related need you may have.

Reach out and get started on your free, no obligation estimate today!

What Are Ice Dams & How Can You Prevent Them?

2020-12-02T00:00:00.05Z

Ice Dams can cause damage to the home in a variety of ways if left untreated.

As autumn draws to a close and temperatures continue to steadily drop in many areas around the country, homeowners must ready themselves for the oncoming snow and ice of the winter season. For homeowners in areas with colder climates, these preparations include stocking up on salt for the driveway, replacing broken snow shovels or tuning up snow blowers. For many, these preparations also include looking to avoid the formation of ice dams along the roofline.

What is an Ice Dam anyway?

If you live in an area of the country with a more temperate climate, and experience snow and ice through the winter months, then you’ve seen your fair share of ice dams. You know, those beautiful cascades of glittering icicles hanging from the edges of roofs? Those are ice dams.

Pretty as they are, Ice Dams can be a significant problem.

An ice dam is a build up of ice gathered along the roofline of a home that is formed when snow collects and builds up on your roof in below-freezing temperatures. Once this snow melts and slides down the roof due to the sun’s heat, a mixture of ice and water work it’s way beneath the shingles and into the home, causing expensive damage to the wood, sheetrock, insulation and more.

The snow will naturally melt due to the sun, but the process is often sped up by heat loss from living spaces within the home, into the attic, a problem often associated with a lack of proper insulation and air sealing.

What Can Ice Dams Do to the Home?

While icicles are certainly beautiful, they are indicative of a serious underlying problem; a lack of proper insulation and air sealing within the home and attic.

The greatest enemy to homeowners around the world is water. Seemingly a calm element, water is actually incredibly destructive in both it’s liquid and solid state. Ice, as it melts and freezes, can push with surprising force against the gutters and shingles, sometimes to the point of ripping the gutters from the roof entirely, and loosening or curling shingles. Snow melt, if unimpeded by shingles and with no proper way to drain from the roof, can cause damage not only to the roofing material, but also the structural components of the home, as it pours into the attic. Not to mention that moisture provides the perfect home for mold and mildew, which can seed and spread through a home incredibly quickly.

How Can Proper Home Insulation Prevent Ice Dams?

While there are many products and procedures sold as the best way to prevent ice dams, here at Attic Systems, we know that the most reliable way to stop ice damming is through proper insulation and air sealing practices, carried out by an experienced professional.

When a home is constructed, there are many gaps and cracks left behind, such as:

Nail and Screw Holes

Plumbing & Electrical Penetrations

Around Chimneys and Vents

And more

Your attic, like any other part of the home, will have these gaps and cracks as well. These small holes can allow warm air from the living spaces to escape up into the attic, where it can slowly climb in temperature and begin to melt the snow and ice above. However, by using proper insulation and air sealing techniques, a home insulation contractor can quickly and effectively prevent the formation of ice dams.

Air Sealing fills gaps and cracks left over from construction that contribute to air loss.

Air sealing is the practice of filling the many small gaps and cracks with an expansive foam insulation material. This insulation material, once injected into the gaps and cracks, fills them completely to stop air from escaping from living spaces and moving into cooler areas, and has the added benefit of being waterproof, providing some added security against snowmelt and rain.

Proper insulation practices are also a must to prevent ice dams. Using one of a variety of insulation materials such as cellulose, foam board, or spray foam a home insulation contractor is able to create a barrier between both the attic and the roof, and the attic and the living spaces below, effectively blocking the flow of air from living spaces, and acting as double insurance against ice dams and cold indoor temperatures.

Cellulose Insulation, when properly installed creates a thermal barrier between your living spaces and the attic.

Finding a Professional Home Insulation Contractor

Here at Attic Systems, we know the dangers that untreated ice dams can cause and our mission is to improve home comfort and safety for our valued customers. This is why we’re your local home insulation professionals. If you’re concerned about the formation of ice dams this winter season or are interested in learning more about our air sealing and insulation services, the experts here at Attic Systems are here for you. Reach out for your free, no obligation estimate today!

Can Attic Insulation Make You Sick?

2020-10-13T00:00:00.05Z

Attic insulation is an essential part of our homes, but dirty, old, poorly installed insulation can make us sick.

While insulation may not be something you usually spend your time worrying about on a day-to-day basis, it’s a worthwhile question to ask. With the cooler months quickly approaching, which means more time spent indoors, could your attic insulation be making you and your family sick?

The answer is yes, sadly. You now may be asking, how could this be? If insulation is improperly installed or the wrong materials have been chosen, your insulation could cause health complications that you don’t see coming. Insulation is an essential part of your home’s comfort and health, but sometimes things can go wrong. In this article, we break down the possible dangers of attic insulation and the complications that can come along with them.

How Attic Insulation Plays a Role in Your Health

Each type of attic insulation comes with its own pros and cons, and each depends on proper installation, climate-type, and certain sensitivities to allergens. Here, we list out the most common types of attic insulation and what each one means in terms of your health.

Fiberglass insulation is made of tiny glass fibers, which could cause skin, eye, or lung irritation if moved or touched.

Fiberglass Insulation- Composed of glass fibers woven together to create a deceptively fluffy looking material.

How it can make you sick: Because of its tiny glass fibers, it can be a high risk material to have in the home. Brushing against, moving or touching the insulation can dislodge those glass fibers, allowing them to lodge into skin, eyes, and be breathed in to irritate the throat and lungs.

Cellulose Insulation- Made from recycled paper products such as newspapers, to create a light, fluffy material.

How it can make you sick: Since made from paper, it can produce an awful lot of dust that can easily make its way down through tiny cracks, causing irritation and common allergy systems. Rodents and pests also find cellulose to be great nesting material.

Rigid Foam Insulation- Also known as ‘foam board’, this expanded polystyrene made insulation is flat and compact, commonly used to insulate hatch doors.

How it can make you sick: This material is famed for its flame resistance, but the chemicals that allow the material to resist high heat, are also highly carcinogenic as they break down over time.

Spray foam insulation is made of nondegradable material that won't cause irritation once installed.

Spray Foam Insulation-This type of insulation is composed of a polyurethane polymer and sprayed over an attic to fill in small cracks, gaps and holes.

How it can make you sick: Due to the nature of the material, being sprayed as a liquid and foaming, failure to wear proper respiratory equipment can result in asthma, lung damage and eye and skin irritation. However, once fully set, spray foam is completely safe to be around and won’t naturally degrade over time.

How Can Attic Insulation Make You Sick?

There are a few ways that insulation in the home can have an adverse health effect.

Insulation can make you ill in a variety of ways, often presenting some allergies or the flu.

Improper Installation--This could be poorly installed or hung insulation, or simply using the wrong material in the wrong space. Certain materials work best when in an attic as opposed to other areas of the home, and the reverse is also true. Fiberglass works best in dry environments, while spray foam can resist moisture and can be placed anywhere in the home. Foam boards are often used to insulate hatch doors, such as to the attic or crawl space, because they can be easily cut to shape.

Water Damage & Mold Issues--Moisture and insulation do not mix. When insulation material becomes wet, it loses its insulating properties. On top of that, wet insulation is a veritable breeding ground for mold and mildew.

Chemical Byproducts & Dust--Depending on the type of insulation material present in your home, there may be unpleasant chemical byproducts, dust and debris. This is usually a natural breakdown of chemicals, or can be caused by shifting and movement of the insulation material.

Animal Waste & Dander--Some types of insulation make wonderful nesting materials for pests--such as mice, rats, birds and racoons. These critters get cozy amongst the fluffy insulation material and make a home for themselves, shedding and getting animal waste on everything.

For those with sensitivities, these things can exacerbate the issue, exaggerating allergy symptoms into an actual sickness that can wear you down over time.

How to Prevent Insulation Sickness

If you're concerned about the health of your home and family, it's always best to reach out to the pros.

The most effective way to prevent irritation, sickness, and other insulation related issues is to be active about inspections and replacements. Having a trusted professional on hand will help make the decision process much smoother.

Insulation inspections should take place yearly, according to most professionals in the field. A lot can happen in a year, such as harsh weather and animal infestations, which can all greatly impact the effectiveness and health of your home's insulation.

If you think it may be time to reach out to an attic insulation contractor, Attic Systems has assembled an easy to navigate list of all your local professionals. Reach out today!

How Does Duct Sealing Work & Is It Worth It?

2020-08-21T00:00:00.05Z

In the dog days of summer, with the heat and humidity of the outdoors becoming unbearable, we often retreat into our air conditioned homes, ready to escape the heavy summer atmosphere. However, some of us may find the indoors to be a less than ideal escape. With poor ducting and insulation work, the heat of the outside can influence the indoor temperatures, causing frustration and discomfort.

Duct sealing is the practice of insulating and properly sealing the metal units that carry conditioned air throughout the home. These duct units are normally placed in the walls, crawl space, basement, or attic of a home, and are greatly affected by the drastic sway in temperature from the outside. This means that during the summer, when you’re trying to cool your home, the cold air you’re paying for is traveling through these hot vent ducts--reheating the air before it ever reaches a room! The inverse happens in the winter, and in the end, you’re spending more money for your home to be less comfortable.

How Duct Sealing Works

The process of Duct Sealing is usually accomplished in one of two ways: Duct Mastic or Spray Foam.

There are a few different ways that contractors can seal your ductwork for maximum productivity. The important part is ensuring that no air can escape, and that the metal tubing is properly ensconced in insulation to combat the wildly varying temperatures that your attic will see each year, as the seasons cycle.

Typical methods of Duct Sealing include:

Duct Mastic- Widely regarded as the best solution for Duct Sealing by many professionals in the industry, Duct Mastic is a gooey, non-hardening material, which is non-toxic and flame resistant. Mastic sealant is often applied using a caulking gun, or a putty knife, and can last up to 20 years.

Spray Foam- The method of using spray foam is gaining popularity within the field for various reasons. For one, spray foam is non-toxic and offers a quick application process. A professional will seal off the vents in each room of the home, and hook up the installation machine. Once turned on, the machine pumps an atomized polymer material into the vents, sealing the microscopic gaps and faulty connections.

What are the Benefits of Duct Sealing?

Duct Sealing can help keep your home happier, healthier and with more money in your pocket.

There are many benefits to having your ducts sealed, which include:

Improved Indoor Air Quality--Dust, dirt, and musty smelling air from your attic can easily make its way through the small gaps and leaks in your ducts, spreading throughout your home once the air kicks on. Duct sealing helps close any of these gaps, making it nearly impossible for these air pollutants to enter.
Money Saving Capabilities--When you seal your air ducts, your conditioned air won’t be leaking out of the ducts before reaching the vents, or losing or gaining heat due to lack of insulation. With proper duct sealing, homeowners on average can save 20% on their energy costs.
Improved Longevity of HVAC Systems--Duct sealing helps out the heating and cooling systems, allowing the machine to work less to maintain air temperature. With less air loss and more temperature regularity, you’ll need to spend less time, money and energy on maintaining the heating and cooling systems within your home, which is always a good thing.

Finding a Qualified Duct Sealing Contractor

When thinking about embarking on a duct sealing project, you’ll want to look into companies that work exclusively in the attic, or specialize in energy saving projects.

Thankfully, our Attic Systems Network has dealers across the nation who are expertly trained in energy conservation practices and methods. Our dealers offer free, no obligation estimates and consultations so that you know from the beginning just what you’re in for, and how much the project will cost, down to the very last penny.

If you’ve been experiencing heat or energy loss and think that duct sealing could be the solution for you, reach out today--we’re just a click away!

Your Business as a Machine - Part 2

2017-09-20T00:00:00.05Z

In order to lead and manage your business, you need a way of understanding it; a structure for how it should function that you can break down, measure, train others on, and improve. We call this model your “Business as a Machine.”

In this second of 4 articles, we’ll discuss the how this model for running a successful home performance business works and each function in more detail.

Referring to the Business Machine Chart, you see seven “gears,” representing the different functions of your business. This machine is how a Home Improvement Contractor should work, and is the structure we use at Attic Systems to help our dealers to greater success.

Last month we discussed the structure of the Business Machine: each department is represented by a gear, with a manager; the person who is responsible for that function. Each gear has KPI’S, or “Key Performance Indicators.” These are the numbers you need to keep track of to measure the department’s performance.

We start the business process with an investment in advertising into the first gear, the Marketing Department – which creates leads that go the next function – the Appointment Center. The Appointment Center’s job is to fill all the “sales slots” you have available to maximize your revenue potential.

The Sales gear is as equally large as the Production gear in our model. This is because nothing happens in any home improvement business until a sale is made, and money isn’t collected from homeowner customers until the work is installed to the customer’s satisfaction.

The KPI in sales is ADL, or Average Dollar per Lead. You calculate your company ADL by taking your total revenue for a period of time and divide it by the number of leads run during that period. It tells us how much money, on average, a sales call is worth. This is an important number to know for many reasons.

First, ADL helps you determine what you can spend for lead generation. For example, if your ADL is $2,000, and you want to invest 10% of your revenue to generate leads, your budget for a lead, on average, is $200. This gives your marketing team a clear target to hit for cost per lead, one of their KPI’s. And, of course, a higher ADL lets you invest in more marketing. Second, letting your Appointment Center team know that each lead that is booked to an appointment is worth, say $2,000, will motivate the team to book more leads, improving their KPI! Starting to see how the Business Machine works?

You can also measure individual sales peoples’ ADL by taking their sales revenue and dividing this number by the number of leads that specific sales rep ran. In lean lead times, ranking your sales people by their ADL allows you to leverage your investment in marketing by assigning appointments to the sales rep with the highest ADL, and letting your lowest ADL sales people feed themselves leads. How your salespeople’s ADLs improve will also give you a direct indication of the impact your sales training efforts have on their results.

The output form the Sales gear is sold jobs that are given to the Production gear for installation, and that the Office gear schedules and manages. In next month’s article, we’ll take on the Production gear and the impact your installation crews have on your entire business results.

Your Business as a Machine - Part 1

2017-08-28T00:00:00.05Z

In order to make sense of, lead, and manage your business, you need a way of understanding it; a structure for how it should function that you break down, measure, train others on, and improve. We call this model your “Business Machine.”

If you were the Jolly Green Giant and walked up to your building and took the roof off to look down and see how the business works, these are the functions you should observe working together to produce the end result – happy customers and a profit.

Referring to the Business Machine Chart, you see seven “gears,” representing the seven different functions of your business. This particular machine (chart) is how a Home Improvement Contractor should work, and is the structure we use at Attic Systems to help our dealers to great success.

Each gear’s size is depicted in relative importance to your business. As you can see, the Sales and Production gears are the biggest, because without sales there is no business, and without Production there is nothing to sell.

In a series of 4 articles, we’ll discuss the how this model for running a successful home performance business works and each function in more detail.

As you can see, each gear has a function and output:

What the department is supposed to produce and send to the next function or department. Each gear has a manager; the person who is responsible for that function. No matter how small your business is, someone has to be in charge of the function and the management of the other people in the department. Each gear has KPI’S, or “Key Performance Indicators.” These are the numbers you need to keep track of to measure the department’s performance. You have to be able to measure in order to know, compare, and improve results. There are many KPI’s you can track and study, but the main ones listed are where you start.

At the top of the machine we start the business process with an investment in advertising. We make this investment into the first gear, the marketing department. The KPI’s for the marketing department are Number of Leads Generated, and Cost per Lead. The Output of the Marketing Department is leads. Who do these leads go to? The next function – the Appointment Center.

The Appointment Center, like all gears, has a manager. The Business Machine Chart has a place to write each manager’s name on the gear. The KPI for the Appointment Center is the percentage of leads that get scheduled into a sales appointment – the higher the percentage the better. you are at maximizing your marketing investment. It is likely that the Appointment Center will also schedule Service Appointments for your company if you have a service function, as well. The output of your Appointment Center is Scheduled Sales Calls. This output goes to the Sales Department.

The Marketing and Appointment Center gears need to operate in synch to help turn your investment in marketing into revenue. For example, the Appointment Center is charged will filling all the sales “slots” you have available each week. The number of slots equals the number of sales people you have times the optimal number of calls you want your sales people to make per week. If you have 3 sales people that can make 2 calls per day, you have 30 “slots” (2 calls/day X 3 salespeople X 5 days/week) where you want your sales people in front of customers. Empty slots don’t generate sales revenue.

If you convert only 75% of the leads your marketing efforts generate into filled slots, you will need to generate 40 leads each week. At 90%, you need only 34 leads! Measure and work on how ell you’re doing at converting leads to appointments! We’ve learned over the years that how well the Appointment Center operates can have a dramatic impact on your business results.

Next month we’ll discuss the sales and production gears and how they interact together and with the other gears in the Business Machine model.

What kind of sales meetings are you having?

2017-08-21T00:00:00.05Z

There is an old business proverb that says; “Nothing happens in a business until a sale is made.” This is particular true in the home performance business. To successfully help homeowners buy home energy retrofits, sales people must be able to communicate complex information about why a home is losing and wasting energy, and what needs to be done to fix it in a compelling way. A sales person has to learn building science, know how to run a blower door and use an infrared camera, use sales scripts and closing techniques – and do all of this while building value for the homeowners. Clearly, the knowledge, skill set and performance of your sales team is critical to the overall success of your home performance operations.

In addition to having a repeatable, predictable sales process that a sales person can follow, we’ve found it vital to hold regular (weekly) sales meetings with our team to instill a “continuous improvement” mentality with our sales people. Every week (more often if you’re new to home performance) you should be gathering your sales team for regular meetings.

Here are four examples of types of sales meetings as they would compare to a type of boat. Take a look at these and ask yourself if your meetings are helping or hurting your efforts to improve overall sales results

Are your meetings like spending a day on luxury yacht? If everyone comes in to relax, laugh and tell jokes while enjoying great food and beverages then your meetings are probably very well attended. But are they actually accomplishing anything?

Are your meetings like taking a long trip on a submarine? If your team comes in and tries to remain silent to avoid detection, and they move slowly so they don’t create any waves, holding their breath till the meeting is over, you have to wonder who your meetings are really for, your managers, or your sales people?

Are your sales meetings like being on a life boat? Are your sales people just holding on trying to survive day to day and waiting for some other boat (job) to come along and rescue them? Are you rationing supplies and limiting activity so you don’t ‘rock the boat’ and end up with your best sales people falling overboard? If you are on the boat with them, will they even listen to your rescue plans and advice?

We believe you will get the best results if you make your sales meeting more like an aircraft carrier. Your sales team should land just long enough to get fuel, update them on their mission, provide critical weapons and skills needed to accomplish their mission, and encouragement to go back out there and help your team win.

What is your agenda? Here’s one to use for an hour long meeting:

5 minutes – announcements and news

15 minutes – positive sales experiences from the previous week shared

35 minutes – role playing parts of the sales process

5 – minutes – wrap up and assignments for next week.

For your next meeting, take a look at your plan. Is there fuel? Is there a clear mission? Will your flyers be motivated or discouraged? Are they taking off with the will to win and the conviction to fight for what is right? How you plan and execute your sales meetings will have dramatic impact on the overall success of your home performance business.