Did you know your attic is the largest area of heat loss in your home?
Trying to figure out which insulation you need for your attic can feel like a bit of a minefield, and we’re often asked: What is the best attic insulation?
With our 55+ years of experience in the construction industry, we know a thing or two about the best attic insulation and have put together this simple guide to help you out.
By taking steps to improve your attic’s insulation, you could:
- reduce the heat loss in your home
- reduce your heating bills
- reduce your carbon footprint.
To get the right insulation, you first need to decide on the purpose of your attic. Perhaps you just want to stop heat from the lower floors from escaping into an unused attic or maybe you want to use it as part of an attic conversion.
Attic ceiling insulation - If you want to avoid heat escaping from your home:
If you are not using your attic as a living space, you should use ceiling insulation by insulating between the joists of your home - i.e. above the ceiling. which lowers your heating bills as you are keeping warm air in the spaces where you live.
You will also need to insulate any pipes in the attic, as well as the attic hatch itself. Pipe insulation can be sourced at your local builders merchant and our Kooltherm K7 can be used to insulate the attic hatch.
We suggest our Kooltherm K7 fitted neatly between the joists, taking care to keep the insulation below the level of the top of the joist. An additional layer of K7 can be used over this with a suitable plywood layer for attic access or light storage, taking care to seal the perimeter of any cavity between the layer of K7 within the joists and the layer of K7 over the joists
Attic conversion insulation - If you want to make your attic into a useable space
If you are going to use your attic as a living space, your best option is to use rafter insulation boards like Kooltherm K7. They can be fixed nicely in between the rafters of your attic and are easy to install, compared to some other commonly used insulants.
Benefits of rafter insulation boards:
- Excellent for attic conversions
- Can be easily covered with plasterboard
- Deliver improved thermal performance
- Can be cut to fit your space
- No risk of sagging
Are there grants available for attic insulation?
The Kingspan Insulation One Stop Shop helps homeowners improve their home's energy efficiency by providing a comprehensive, end to end solution for domestic retrofit and refurbishment projects.
The Kingspan Retrofit Team can offer advice, organise assessments and manage the whole project from start to finish. They also provide access to a range of grants offered by the SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland) to support your home energy upgrades.
Learn more here.
