Foamed Insulation

Before and After Shots

Before

This is the attic in our home.  Notice how we do not have the solar board treatment on the roof deck.  Our attic gets HOT in the summer and is cold in the winter.  We foamed our ducts several years ago and felt an immediate difference.  The air was cooler coming out of the vents and our electric bills dropped (we are in an all electric home).

The foam is not real pretty, but who cares?  It's in the attic.  It very, very efficient. In a typical home, the air handler is pushing treated air through many linear feet of ducting with only minor insulation on it (top photo).  A Dallas attic can easily reach 150 degrees in the summer, so you can imagine how much cool air is lost along the entire route of the ducting.  The foam insulates the ducting, seals any cracks or tears, and prolongs its life from about 15 years (on average) to 80 years.  Foam is also commonly found in the wall studs of new, high end, custom homes because of its high insulation values.

As an illustration of how foam insulation works, imagine holding a scalding cup of hot coffee in a Styrofoam cup.  No problem.  That coffee is hot and stays hot for a long time with a minimal temperature loss when compared to any other type of coffee cup.  The same thing happens when you pump hot or cold air through ducting which has been foamed.   We had this done on our home and felt the difference immediately, not to mention the lower utility bills.