A vital part of making your attic a livable space is to make sure it’s kept cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Controlling the climate of even a converted attic is a challenge because your attic still sits at the top of your house. This means it pulls in the heat of the sun from the roof and gives up massive amounts of heat in the winter. Anyone who’s seen steam rising from your roof during a rainstorm on a scorching hot day can imagine what the temperature is like in your attic. The good news is that there are creative ways to keep your converted attic comfortable.
1. Use the Chimney Effect
The chimney effect describes how hot air rises and creates a draft that pulls cooler air into a space. One way to make your converted attic comfortable through all seasons is to install one or more adjustable skylights as well as vertical windows. When you open both at the same time on a summer’s day, the skylight pulls hot air out of the attic and pulls cooler air up from the lower floors. It also helps to install thermal blinds on the skylights to further control the amount of heat and light that comes into the attic. These blinds can be operated manually or via remote control. They can even be made of blackout fabric to keep heat in during the winter.
2. Invest in a Whole-House Fan
A whole-house fan is placed in your attic’s ceiling. It not only pulls cooler air into your attic, but it also circulates that cooler air throughout the house. At the same time, it forces hot air out of the attic through its windows and skylight. The whole-house fan also keeps the attic, and indeed the rest of the house, from heating up too quickly over the following days. These fans also save money because they use far less electricity than a central air conditioner. More and more whole-house fans are solar powered, which lowers costs even more.
3. Try Ductless Mini-Split Systems
Ductless mini-split systems seem to have been made for converted attics. These efficient appliances use as many as eight individual air handlers connected to an outdoor condenser. They’re connected via pipes instead of ducts. This not only means that you won’t have the expense and disruption of installing ducts to service your attic, but you also won’t have to deal with ducts that leak or become homes for vermin. The air handlers can also be programmed individually to deliver either cool or warm air.
Keeping your attic warm in winter and cool in summer can be a formidable task even if your attic has been converted. Fortunately, it can be done. If you live in Pueblo, CO or a surrounding area and need attic insulation services, make your first call to R Buck Heating.