Making a Top Floor Cooler in Deltaviille, VA
Challenge
The homeowner of this weekend residence, located on the Chesapeake Bay, wanted to make sure that his newly acquired weekend home was comfortable and efficient to heat and cool.
This home is uniquely configured with the Kitchen, Dining Room and Living Room on the second floor to maximize views of the Bay. The issue was the blazing hot summer sun could have a tendency to make these living spaces warm as a result of Solar Gain on the roof. Further, the property showed some signs of age a neglect in the form of flexible ducting in the attic that was literally falling apart. The new owner is a very meticulous engineer who takes pride in assuring that each and every system of the property is functioning well and is properly maintained.
Solution
COMFENERGY: designed a solution that started with the removal of filthy contaminated insulation and flexible duct work that was falling apart. Radiant Barrier was added to the roof rafters in order to reduce the temperature of the attic and make the insulation work less hard through the reflection of radiant energy back through the roof. The drywall ceiling was then perfected (made better) by air sealing all penetrations and wall top plates with expandable foam. Pathways and work decks were created with plywood to allow for easy access of the HVAC system located in the attic. New High Energy Efficient Flexible ducts were carefully installed and air sealed to assure that the Cool or Hot air generated by the Heating and Air Conditioning System arrived at the intended destination one floor below. Lastly, Cellulose Insulation was installed to the maximum value recommended by the EPA Home Energy Star program (R60), assuring high levels of comfort and energy efficiency.
This Project used Radiant Barriers to reflect heat transmitted from the sun in the form of Radiant Energy. This energy is the reason that your car gets overheated (much hotter than the outside air) during a sunny summer day. The Radiant Barrier acts much like a mirror to bounce the energy back towards the sun resulting in attic temperatures that can drop by 20 degrees or more on a sunny day. The decrease in attic temperature reduces the heat transfer to the room below, make the 2nd floor living space more comfortable. For more information on how they work read the article at the link below:
https://www.comfenergy.com/about-us/news-and-events/22523-the-case-for-radiant-barriers.html
Duct work in an attic is what we refer to as a "AA" Priority. These components reside in a hostile environment (your attic) and are under extreme pressure differences. Think about it: when it is very hot in your attic, these ducts need to supply cool air to the rooms below. When it is very cold outside, these ducts deliver hot air. Air pushes through them under extreme air pressure, exploiting each an every hole in the duct work to leak into the attic which is essentially outside of the house. The ducts in this house were split and broken as a result of UV exposure and the impact it has on the plastic coverings of the ducts. Watch this short video to learn more about the pitfalls of bad duct work in an attic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcj0sC91tYI
Air Sealing and adding Insulation is one of the best investments you can make in your home. It gives you a great return on investment, and makes you more comfortable at the same time. Read this blog to learn more:
The results of this project are not yet determined, but the customer knows that his new weekend home will be more efficient and the tops floor will be cooler during his summer visits. How does he know? He is a return customer who has installed similar treatments at his primary residence. COMFENERGY is honored to win his repeat business!
Project Summary
Engineer: John LeVan
Installer: Ariel Campos
Installer: John LeVan
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