Will More Insulation Fix Temperature Imbalance?

Q. My ranch house was built in 1995, and R-30 fiberglass insulation was blown into the attic.

When the whole roof was replaced several years ago, we added ridge vents. I've sealed the electrical covers in each room of the house on outside walls. I've caulked the windows - even put plastic shrink wrap on one window.

In the basement, I have wrapped the vent tubes leading to the upstairs bedroom registers with insulation. I've insulated the entire basement ceiling with R-30 batts.

The two west-facing front bedrooms are cold during the winter and hot during the summer. We put professionally installed reflective film on the front room windows to help prevent the summer sun beating in. I’m not sure the gable vents are blocked due to the ridge vent being put in. I've had 3 bids on blown in insulation, and they did not mention the ridge vents or mold possibilities.

I'm considering blowing in fiberglass R-19 to bring the total up to R-49. Should I do this? I'm concerned I may create new problems such as moisture/mold. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

A. Let’s start with the additional insulation. It is fine to add some insulation to the attic as long as you do not cover or inhibit the incoming air to the attic. Make sure that you install baffles where the trusses or rafters meet the walls so that outside air can still come in freely. With the addition of ridge vents, the gable end vents do need to be covered from the inside. This insures that you are achieving the correct path of intake and exhaust air for the attic to breathe properly. So as long as you do not interfere with the intake air to the attic you should be fine with adding some more insulation.

The cold rooms in the house could also be from an improperly balanced HVAC system. These systems usually have dampers on the duct work to control the airflow to each room. If the dampers to the cold/hot rooms are closed, then the proper amount of air may not be reaching the rooms causing the difference in temperature. Or, if these are found to be open you can systematically partially close the dampers to the rooms closest to the furnace which will direct more air to the rooms that are starved.

Another thing to look for is restrictions to the cold air return vents. Furniture, curtains, boxes etc. placed in front of these intake vents can restrict the performance of the system. Also the addition of cold air returns in the area of concern can improve the performance of the system. Most systems do not have enough intake air to work to their full potential.

Mosby Building Arts regularly performs home energy audits. If interested please contact us and schedule one with us. This is one of the many things we are passionate about and fully trained to diagnose and correct issues like these to reduce the energy consumption and improve comfort of your home. Please check out the link below:

The Mosby Home Energy Audit

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