Spray Foam Insulation Before & After Photos

The homeowner of this Fairfax Station historic home was looking for a way to lower their utility bills. The Comfenergy comfort and energy consultant provided a great solution that would lower utility bills all year round, and provide a great storage space in the attic!!  

Most attic insulation projects have several steps in the service to improve their performance.  Removal of old insulation, air sealing and new insulation installation are some of the most common options as was the case with this Fairfax Station home.  An often added step to promote even better performance is to encapsulate the HVAC ducts in an attic with spray foam.  Metal HVAC ducts running through a hot attic in the summer or a cold attic in the winter can have trouble effectively delivering heated or cooled air created by the HVAC system.  Spray Foam insulation protects the conditioned air by keeping the ducts from allowing attic temperatures to have an impact.  

Spray foam insulation is an effective method to protect the air created by your HVAC system and safely deliver it to the rooms of the home it is intended to heat or cool.  

A home owner in Prince William County, VA wanted to make his home more energy efficient. One of the ways that we helped them do this was by converting the attic into an extension of conditioned space. We did this by installing an average of 3 inch thick closed cell spray foam on the roof and the end walls. This creates a super insulated airtight cap on the top of your home to stop air from leaking out. Closed cell spray foam insulation has a leading R-value of R6.5 per inch and adds to the structural integrity of your roof. Converting this attic resulted in lower fuel and energy bills. 

Conditioned air (Heated or Cooled) passing through HVAC ducts can be impacted by the temperature in the area the HVAC ducts are located.  Imagine 60 degree air passing through an HVAC duct.  If that duct goes through an attic in the summer the temperatures in the attic can reach as high as 120 degrees.  Cold air + hot metal HVAC duct = condensation.  It also means that cold air gets heated by the time it passes all the way through, making your home less comfortable than intended and causing your HVAC system to work harder.  The same is true in reverse during the colder months.  Spray Foam can be used to encapsulate HVAC ducts, keeping the conditioned air inside the way it was meant to be.