A common occurrence in homes, especially those homes that are built in the south or in places like Arizona, is an extremely hot roof and a heat transfer straight to and through your ceiling. The ceiling will often get very hot, radiating that heat throughout your home and placing a strain on your HVAC system.
Attics get hot during the summer, especially in warmer climates. Poor ventilation, an inadequate level of insulation, or poor insulation cause attics to get hotter than normal. That heat can be felt through the ceiling and will radiate through the home.
Of course, that means additional strain on your HVAC system as your air conditioner struggles to keep up with the excess heat. Not only will you have a problem with a hot house, but you will also start receiving insanely high energy bills, along with potential damage to your air conditioner.
Heat Pushing Down Through Your Ceiling
Heat rises. Just because the heated air is in a gaseous state, doesn’t mean that it won’t act as a liquid. In other words, as the roof radiates heat into the attic, it tends to fill up at the top, where the rafters are. As the heat continues to radiate inward, it fills up the attic like water fills up a cup, only upside down.
Once the heat expands downward to the joists and sheetrock of your ceiling, it heats that sheetrock and the joists up. Back on the floor of your home, you will start to feel that heat radiating from your ceiling, just as you would if you were standing in the attic when the sun first comes up in the morning.
Once it is radiating from your ceiling, far hotter than it should be, the process repeats itself, slowly filling up the house from the top on down. If you happen to have a ceiling fan or two running, they will suck that heat from above, where it is more prevalent, and blasts it down throughout the home.
How to Fix Your Hot Ceiling/Attic
You’re fighting both conduction and radiation heating so simply getting up into your attic and throwing down some added insulation is like slapping a bandaid on a gangrenous wound. It may hide the issue for a very short period but does nothing to solve the problem.
Insulation
This is where it starts, although it is not the total solution by any means. If you happen to have a home in a hot climate, like Florida (for humidity) or Arizona (for dry heat) there are certain types of attic insulation that are better options than others. Here are some of the terms you need to know:
- R-Rating (not about the movies)
- Radiant Barriers
- Cellulose Insulation
- Fiberglass Insulation
- Spray Foam Insulation
In hot climates, spray foam insulation is the quickest and easiest way to thoroughly insulate your attic. However, it’s also known for being absolute garbage when it comes to its insulating effects. It’s probably better when used in moderate climates.
The R-Rating is a number that tells you how well the insulation slows the transference of heat. Insulation types between R30 and R60 are the best for hot climates, with the higher numbers offering more thermal transfer resistance.
Fiberglass insulation is very common. If you crawl up into your attic and see fluffy, pink, cotton candy-looking stuff everywhere, it’s probably fiberglass insulation. Fiberglass insulation offers a lot of positives, such as fire and water resistance, longevity, and it doesn’t have any formaldehyde.
It’s also a pain, especially if you have particularly sensitive skin. Fortunately, you shouldn’t have to deal with the stuff too much. It does come with a 117% improvement in terms of your home’s value, which is something you definitely want in your home.
Cellulose insulation comes in a distant second with fiberglass and spray foam an even more distant third. Cellulose is terrible insulation for humid environments, as it soaks in the water from the air. Spray foam insulation works moderately well but comes with several safety concerns.
Install an Attic Fan
An attic fan brings multiple benefits with it. Not everyone has one and although modern homes under construction will most likely come with one, not many older homes do.
- Sucks the hot air out into the atmosphere
- Reduces the moisture in your attic
- Increases the lifespan of your roof
- Drives down your power bill
- Reduces room temperatures throughout the home
An attic fan comes with its own thermostat so it doesn’t run based on a timer schedule or anything that you have to physically do, such as turning it on and off. Attic fans are exceptional additions to a home without one, especially if the home in question is sitting in direct sunlight for the majority of the day.
An attic fan is capable of reducing the attic temperature by up to 50°F. While it might not do as well as 50° if the home is in direct sunlight, it will still make a noticeable difference. It doesn’t pull enough power to make a notable difference on your power bill either.
A lot of homeowners will set up attic fans and run them purely off of solar energy, so the power the attic fan draws becomes negligible. There are a ton of options out there in terms of brands and manufacturing choices as well.
It’s not something that you can install yourself, however, so your best bet will be to call an HVAC expert out to your home because they will know exactly where and how to install one. Once the attic fan is installed, you will notice an immediate difference, even if your insulation isn’t the best.
Combine improved insulation with a solid attic fan and you won’t have to worry about a hot ceiling again.
Final Thoughts
A hot ceiling is generally a sign of poor insulation or poor ventilation in the attic. Sometimes it’s an indicator of both. Either way, it’s a sign that you need to make some changes to your attic. Fortunately, you won’t have to pay an absolute fortune to do it.
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