I'm renting a house that was never originally intended to be occupied full-time. The house is of a cinder block type construction with no insulation in or on the blocks. The attic has some insulation, but only at an R-value of 9. I'm fortunate that I have free natural gas on the property for heating – so heating isn't an issue. However, in the summer the house is unbearably hot and difficult to air-condition with two portable AC units (the windows are an unusual size and won't allow for a standard window unit.)
Edit: I'm in climate zone 6a in central West Virginia. The attic currently has a ventilation fan that I ran around the clock last summer.
Would increasing the insulation in the attic likely make a noticeable difference in cooling the structure in the summer?
Best Answer
Yes it will make a noticeable difference, but I'd be hard-pressed to do that on a place I was renting. With free natural gas, I'd be tempted to get a NG generator and run bigger A/Cs. I'm surprised you need AC that bad in central WV. I grew up in southern WV w/o AC--and never really needed it up in the mountains... Good luck.