Is your attic silently stealing your cool air this summer? If your energy bill jumped in June and certain rooms never seem to catch up with the thermostat, your attic insulation might be the culprit โ not your HVAC unit.
Northeast Arkansas sits in IECC Climate Zone 3, where the Department of Energy recommends a minimum R-38 in the attic โ and ideally R-49 to R-60 for existing homes. A lot of the older houses we see in Jonesboro and Trumann are sitting on R-11 or R-19 fiberglass batts that were installed back when energy was cheap and nobody cared.
Here are four signs it's time to call us. First, your second floor or bonus room is noticeably hotter than the rest of the house. Second, you can see the tops of your ceiling joists when you peek into the attic โ that means you have less than 5 inches of insulation, which is nowhere near code. Third, your AC runs almost continuously during the day. Fourth, you touch the ceiling in an upstairs room and it feels warm by mid-afternoon.
A properly insulated attic โ whether we top it off with blown-in cellulose at around $1.20โ$1.60 per square foot or lay closed-cell spray foam on the roof deck at $2.50โ$3.50 per SF โ can cut cooling loads by 15โ25%. That's real money back in your pocket every single month from now through September.
We do free attic assessments right here in the Jonesboro area. We'll measure your current R-value, check for air bypasses around can lights and plumbing chases, and give you a straight quote โ no pressure. Reply to this post or DM us to schedule yours before the July heat really locks in.