insulation has made my house hotter, page-24

Brains,

My 20 cents worth.

The roof insulation reduces heat entering/excaping through your roof. Therefore, in winter, when the house is relatively closed up, less heat from your heater or other sources (eg. stove) will excape through the roof making the house warmer or requiring less energy to heat it up to a set temperature. Similarly, in summer, if you have air conditioning, less heat will enter through your roof making the house cooler or requiring less energy to cool it to a set temperature.

In the absence of air conditioning or heating, the house will generally get its temperature from the air outside. Some house will be more cooler than others because of specific settings, breezes, shade, materials it is constructed from etc.

I would imagine that any house would, in the absence of air conditioning or heating, follow a natural flow of heating and cooling during the day depending on the air temperature and other factors outside. Some of this heat may come in from, or excape through the roof. Consequently, adding insulation to the roof should effect the rate of heat entering and lost through that roof. Consequently, I would expect both a reduction in the level of extremes and a lagging effect from adding roof insulation ie. may take longer to heat up naturally and also take longer to cool down naturally. Consequently, I don't find in unbelievable that the temperature inside your house may be hotter in the late afternoon than previously.

From my understanding, the main purpose of the insulation was to keep the heat in winter or the heat out when using air conditioning in summer. I think someone suggested before that, if you do not have airconditioning in summer, then you should open up the house more when it is cooler outside to allow the cooler air in or, alternatively, keep the house less open when it is hotter outside than inside (e.g. early morning). When it is hotter inside you could also try directing a fan towards the ceiling to encourage the hotter air inside to mingle with the cooler air coming in from outside.

Hope this is of some assistance.


Regards

SP