Finished Attic Is Very Hot

The attic is a huge determinant in keeping your entire home cool so the first place to start cooling your home should be the attic.

Finished attic is very hot. I live in northern virginia hot humid climate in the summer and use heat pumps to heat and cool my house throughout the year. Attic spaces are typically very hot in the summer and very cold through the winter. Not the overabundance but the lack of insulation in the attic. If you re storing electronics in your attic you might be unpleasantly surprised to find them less than functional in the future.

The basic space requirements for a finished attic boil down to the sizes of the finished rooms. Another reason your attic is so hot is because of insulation. I have large attic with ridge vents and screened vents at either end of the attic to maintain air flow. Stewart attics without air conditioning can reach up to 160 degrees fahrenheit on a hot day and that s way too hot for your electronics to survive apple recommends using their computers at between 50 and 95.

Install electric ventilators and attic fans which remove hot air from an attic. My idea is to vent the build up of hot air that has risen to the ceiling in the hotspot rooms into the attic so that air from cooler parts of the house can move in. Enforcement varies but codes typically say that at least half of a finished attic must be at least 7 feet high and that this area must be a minimum of 7 feet wide and 70 square feet. Every attic is different but a few established norms and practices will guide your renovation.

I have a shop in my attic for some of my hobbies and it get s very hot in the summer. Alternatively install passive vents such as gable soffit and ridge vents which are openings in the roof that allow hot air to escape. Low cfm similar to a bathroom vent 300cfm and only in the hot spots basically by adding an inline ducting fan to the return ducts for the hotspot rooms. Without properly ventilating the roof your finished space can be just as unpleasant as an unfinished attic.

Since parts of a finished attic are usually very close to the roof. They have thermostats that turn the fan on at a recommended preset temperature of 100 110 degrees. Within the attic insulation is a must. Converting your attic into usable finished space can increase the value of your home by maximizing the available square footage.

I recently moved into a 1922 2 1 2 story colonial in baltimore md hot humid summers and fairly cold winters. Without properly insulating your finished attic room will also be cold in the winter. If your home is smaller than other homes in your area or simply lacks the necessary amount of storage or living space for your family finishing your attic is a relatively inexpensive way to increase your usable space. Follow the rule of 7s.

A contractor or a local building. Flooring ceiling and wall materials and other elements will reduce headroom and floor space and it s the finished area that matters.