Attic Insulation Question

The house is/was losing ground in the 100-degree stuff we were having. HVAC seems to be operating to the best of its abilities. Doesn't tend to lose ground till 2 pm to 3 pm and the house will creep up to a max (so far) of 82 degrees. (AC is set a 77). The weekly updates from my electric provider are showing we are spinning the meter hard!

My AC is hung in the roof joists of the attic. They put a 10' x 10' OSB deck under the AC to give service guys access to the unit.

Figured out it has R19 batts under that OSB. :punchout: The builder blew cellulose insulation everywhere else that the attic is flat.

Recommended R value for an Attic is a Minimum of R30 https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm...sulation_table

My thought is to pull up the OSB decking and put some R-30 batts in and put the decking back. Then this fall blow in some more cellulose insulation over everything else since it looks like the cellulose have settled over the years.

Does this sound like a logical plan of attack?

'Squishing' R30 batts under the decking won't help much, unless you have 10" rafters. I'd just blow in cellulose thru the whole attic.

9" rafters which should work with an R30 shouldn't it?? Plan to pull the R-19 that is in place now.

They put the furnace filter in the attic along with the AC. So I have to allow for access to get that 'tupid filter..... :facepalm:

I thought most attics in 1-stories are 2x8's, which is actually 7.5". R30 batts are 10 (or maybe 9.5") deep. Fiberglass works better when it's not compressed.

Just stuck my head back in the attic they measure at just over 9".

Thought I saw where Owens Corning show R30 Batts at 9-1/2" x 24" x 48". (I'll recheck that)

So I'd squish just under 1/2". Which I know is not perfect but it should be better than the R19 bats that are under the decking currently.

Tried to get a few pictures of the attic:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wjn9k4vn47...22.51.jpg?dl=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/z0xzbwpj1n...22.38.jpg?dl=1

Agreed. Go with the R30's.

PS - is that your timeout chair?

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Originally Posted by sammm

Agreed. Go with the R30's.

PS - is that your timeout chair?

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You don't want to get a timeout at my house......

Will your power company do an infrared scan of your house? There might be places other than the attic that could use some help.

PS Anyone on the forum able to do an IR scan?

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Originally Posted by cone-cerned

Will your power company do an infrared scan of your house? There might be places other than the attic that could use some help.

PS Anyone on the forum able to do an IR scan?

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An energy audit may be a good plan...

So I'm going to attempt my stop gap measures I see mention of Craft Faced (Paper) and non-craft face insulation.

Where the insulation was blown in I don't see a vapor barrier but the stuff under the "Deck" is craft faced. Trying to Figure out Ft. Worth Building code is confusing at best. Not sure if I need a Vapor barrier or not...

I like the energy audit idea. Got this from the google.

http://www.oncor.com/en/pages/energy...-programs.aspx

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Originally Posted by sammm

I like the energy audit idea. Got this from the google.

http://www.oncor.com/en/pages/energy...-programs.aspx

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Folks who work for Oncor are sketchy....... ;-)

^Buncha hippies. ::hippi::

Don't be talkin' bad 'bout hippies, man.

Attachment 7144

Being a hippy can be fun...

The local power delivery company only hires the highest quality employees. I've had the audit and like the employees, it rocks. ::hal::

I installed radiant barrier on top of my attic insulation years ago and it seemed to help a lot. Hard to verify before/after because of varying temps, but I think it is worthwhile.

How old is the AC unit? How many tons and sq feet is it servicing?

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Originally Posted by CosmosMpower

How old is the AC unit? How many tons and sq feet is it servicing?

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It's the same one that has been cooling the place for 22+ years. Had it checked out and it was running within its specifications. HVAC guy also recommended insulation.

I run under Grandpa Harrison's old addige; "If it works don't f*ck with it." We know its time is near but would rather replace it in the winter when the HVAC guys need the work and have the time to do a decent installation. ;-)

You will be surprised how much more efficient the new A/C unit will be. My electric bill dropped by half with the new unit!

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Originally Posted by gabkwong

You will be surprised how much more efficient the new A/C unit will be. My electric bill dropped by half with the new unit!

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Did they blow a ton of insulation at the same time?? I don't doubt it would be more efficient but I tend to notice they also what to insulate the attic along with the installation of a new A/C unit.

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Originally Posted by POS Racing

Did they blow a ton of insulation at the same time?? I don't doubt it would be more efficient but I tend to notice they also what to insulate the attic along with the installation of a new A/C unit.

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I just had a new heat pump and blower from Rheem. The old one came with the house and was a Carrier which lasted more than 20 years other than getting a new capacitor every other year. Toward the end it was running non-stop 24 hours. I had the new one paid for from the saving of the smaller electric bill pretty fast. I didn't even get the multi-stage unit which supposed to be even more efficient. In 2015 Uncle Sam mandated all the A/C units have to meet the new efficiency standard. The A/C guy told me all the units installed in the past few years are totally redesigned during the change over to the new standard. One extra benefit of the new design is the noise. The new one is very quite especially when it kicks in. The old was sounding like the 747 was about the take off.